Rise of the Valiant
by JDickensIV
Summary: Five years after the end of the Lion War.
1. Prologue

Rise of the Valiant  
Prologue  
JDickensIV

Church bells rang throughout the whole of Lesalia. Their benevolent king was dead.

The city of Lesalia is the capital of Ivalice, so it would seem appropriate that their King Delita Hyral would have his funeral in the largest cathedral at the heart of this city, just a few blocks away from the palace.

Some ten blocks from the Grand Cathedral in the business district of Lesalia was an inn of little importance. The Dragon's Den Inn had no particular magnificence to it. The only thing that distinguished it from the rest of the lane of identical buildings and businesses was a sign hung above its door, which read "Dragon's Den".

Just inside the door was a dining area for the patrons of the inn. The dining room was not very large and sparsely furnished, with only a few crudely made chairs around a table which took up much of the available room. To the right was a window with a counter opening up to the owner's office. During the business hours the owner would sit and wait for new sources of money. The hour was still early, and the owner was asleep in his office with his legs propped up on a short stool. In the back of this first room was a door that leads to rooms for the guests to occupy for the night.

In the room furthest from the exit a figure began to stir. The rain that was as a lullaby the night before now served to wake the lone occupant in the back room of the Dragon's Den Inn on this somber morning.

The man who began to stir was in his mid to late twenties. His blonde hair stopped just above the neck. The young man crawled out of his bed, shivering in the early morning's chill grasp. He pulled a black tunic over his head. The 'black costume', as it was called in the most expensive shops of Ivalice, was one suitable for battle, yet light enough for everyday use. It was also not nearly as bulky as traditional armor. He then put on his hardened leather trousers. His trousers were made with hardened leather on top of steel for concealment on top of silk, for comfort. With his trousers on, he fastened his special made Germinas Boots- boots made specifically for climbing the highest mountain peaks of Germinas. He then fastened a belt around his waist, and onto the belt he fastened his sheathed rune blade. When all of this was done, he put each hand into a bracer of thin leather. The man liked the attention that was drawn from wearing full armor almost as much as he liked going out with naught but a shirt and pants on, but he still took precautions. Over all of this he wore a black robe with a black hood so that all of his features were hidden from curious eyes.

The man exited his room and knocked on the door across from his. Answering the knock was a young woman in a nightgown. She was in her early twenties, by the look of her, with long blonde hair.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" the man asked politely.

"As well as any other night," came the response. "I see you're ready for the day, and more still, by your raiment. I don't believe I will go to the funeral. It's just that… he may have stopped the war, but he used everyone. I can't forgive him for that."

"It's alright," the man stated. "I'll be back right after the funeral is over. Promise me you'll wait for me right here."

"Ok. I'll be waiting for you here. Take care," the woman added as she hugged the man.

"I will," and with that the man made his way down the hallway to the lobby.

Seeing that the innkeeper was still asleep, Ramza knocked politely on the counter. The innkeeper snorted, but did not stir. Ramza reached over the counter and shook the man gently by his shoulders.

"Good morning," he said, when the innkeeper had finally come around. "I'll need to rent the two back rooms for at least another night."

The owner, though still groggy was excited to have an opportunity at securing some funds so early in the day. He said, "Well, I do have someone who has already reserved the two rooms, though I suppose I could give you the reservation at a minimal fee." The owner's eyes gleamed as he reveled at his cunning idea.

The cloaked man saw right through the innkeeper's story. He frowned as he said, "Well, that is too bad. I would hate to put someone else out on the street. I think I'll find another inn for tonight."

The innkeeper, dismayed at the possibility of losing future business said, "I believe that I may have another room to put the other guests in as I recall, if you would prefer not to move your belongings."

Pleased that this exchange fell his way, the cloaked man said, "Well, if it is no trouble for you to arrange that, it sure would be easier for us. I will go ahead and pay you upfront for the next night." He then reached for some gil in his moneybag and paid the innkeeper.

Though the innkeeper was displeased at meeting his match, for he had never been outwitted as a mediator, he was happy to have the rent upfront. While counting his prize the innkeeper called out, "Have a nice day," as the cloaked man made his way out the door.

As the man walked outside he pulled his robe and hood tight about himself. Though the wind was only faint, it carried with it biting winds from the north, and no warmth could be found from the sky. The sky was still dark with clouds refusing to make way for the sun. A light rain still persisted, even after Lesalia's saturation the night before. Mud had formed in the streets and alleys all around the cloaked man.

The blonde-haired man began walking in the direction of the Grand Cathedral when he saw a bakery not far from his inn. Deciding to escape the rain for breakfast, he made his way into the bakery.

Seeing no one around, the cloaked man almost left when he heard someone rummaging around in the back. The man inquired, "Hello…? Are you open yet?"

A lady's voice from the kitchen of the bakery answered in saying, "Indeed we are. What can I do for…" the voice trailed off. After examining the cloaked man, Saira wished she had not spoken so quickly, but as it was, she had.

Not wishing to further disgruntle this dangerous man, Saira continued, "Oh, yes. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was hoping you might have some fresh bread," the man replied.

Her pride in her craft overpowered her fear of this stranger, as Saira promptly stated, "Why, the best in Lesalia, I'll wager."

"I'll try some then, if you please," the man replied.

Saira then went into the kitchen to get some bread for this shady looking person. When she returned, she found the man had taken a place at one of her tables. As she set the bread down she asked, "Are you in for the funeral? I don't believe I've seen you here before. Oh, excuse me. My name is Saira."

The man glanced up at her and said, "Pleased to meet you Saira. I am Mr. Ruglia. Yes, that is why I have come. Do you know of the circumstances behind the late king's death? There have been many rumors about it, and I should like to hear what you have heard. After all, I do have some time to kill before the funeral."

Saira was slightly surprised by this request, but she sat across from the man and said, "Well, none are too sure, though suicide is likely. The most puzzling thing about it all is the death of his wife Ovelia, just some three years ago. After the death of his wife, they say the king just stopped living."

After eating his fill of bread, the man said, "I see. Thank you for your time and information. Here is the money for the bread, and something for your service."

He then pulled out fifty gil and paid the woman.

Saira protested, "This is too much! Sir, I can not accept this."

Mr. Ruglia simply replied, "Well, I won't take it back. After all, that really is the best bread in Lesalia."

By this time, there were already a few other customers in the bakery. Three customers took special notice of this strange man… and his moneybag. They followed the man out of the bakery and into the streets of Lesalia.

It seemed the man did not notice the three at all. The thieves followed close behind, waiting for an opportune moment to attack. The cloaked man turned into a dark alley not three blocks from the bakery. The thieves stopped and gave one another a wicked glance.

When the thieves entered the alley they were first surprised to find the man with his sword drawn, ready for battle. After they overcame their surprise, the thieves became angered at the arrogance of this stranger who thought he could take all three of them on at once.

"Think you're tough, eh?!" the leader yelled.

"We'll teach you some manners!" another thief shouted.

"We were gonna let you live, but not anymore. Get him!" the leader yelled.

The two thieves at the leader's command charged at the cloaked man. Each had a broadsword in hand, and each swung with untrained and furious strokes. The leader watched as this strange man parried and blocked both of his men at the same time.

Seeing that he had better stop having his fun before they got the best of him, the cloaked figure began an offensive of his own. He blocked a stroke from above dealt by the thief on his right, and then parried a stab from the other, and with the momentum turned full circle, brining his sword down across the chest of the thief to his right, who fell dead. The other thief, enraged by the death of his comrade began slashing and stabbing furiously. Taking advantage of his enemy's anger, the cloaked man swiftly dodged a downward slash, and with precise timing, struck the thief's blade toward the hilt as the thief's blade struck the ground. The cheaply made broadsword cracked and all but the hilt fell to the ground. In seemingly instantaneous movement, the cloaked man lifted his right elbow: bringing his sword level, and thrust the sword through the thief's chest.

The leader, with mouth hung wide, paused only long enough to see his last man fall to the ground. Then, fearing his own end, he ran for safety from this dark alley and this most dangerous man.

After cleaning the blood off of his sword, the cloaked man sheathed his blade and made his way back out of the alley. He saw no need to give chase to the leader. He knew he would see no more of him.

The sun was now near it's zenith, though the clouds hid this fact from those under their power. The rain had given way to a light drizzle. Mr. Ruglia was now making his way to the Grand Cathedral near the heart of the city for the funeral that was to be held at noon.

The streets began to be less and less muddy as the streets became paved the closer they got to the Grand Cathedral and the heart of Lesalia.

A short while later Mr. Ruglia found himself amidst a great number of people in front of the Grand Cathedral of Lesalia.

The Grand Cathedral rests at the intersection of the two main roads atop a slight incline. Beautiful stained glass windows of great color depict holy scenes from the life of St. Ajora, the Glabados Church's 'miracle child', high above the city streets below.

Making his way through the great hordes of people who arrived to mourn for their king, the cloaked man glanced up at these depictions of St. Ajora's life, and he could scarcely conceal his contempt. He knew the truth behind this 'miracle child,' but he knew he could not reveal the truth at the moment. After all… he was here to say goodbye to an old friend.

As the cloaked figure walked trough the crowd of people in search for standing room in the packed cathedral he overheard some mourners talking behind him.

"It's a shame really, to die so young. To find his wife Ovelia murdered just three years earlier. He probably died of a broken heart. I don't believe he really had any friends either, except that… oh… uh…"

"The Beoulve boy!" one mourner chimed in. "Leastways when they was young,"

"Yup. Too bad about him too. Whole family dead… they never even found his body."

"You know… that's curious. How come they haven't found his body in all their searchin'?" Another curious listener asked. "It almost makes you think he's still around, 'cept nobody's seen him since the war nearly five years ago."

The curious mourner had his head turned, his eyes searching for an answer on the blank faces of his fellow mourners, which is why he didn't notice as he bumped into a man with a cloak in front of him. Fearing he had angered the man, and recognizing the look and stature of a noble he apologized quickly, but he couldn't understand why the man was amongst the commoners, and what's more… smiling.

The cloaked man was pondering what he had jut heard, and he could not resist smiling. It is said that no one ever saw Ramza Beoulve since Olan Durai caught a glimpse of him and his sister just after Alma's 'funeral,' and in a sense that is true. That is, no one ever saw Ramza _Beoulve _since then. Shortly after the end of the Lion War, Ramza decided to use the false name that he used in the service of the mercenary Gafgarion, that name being Ramza Ruglia.

Ramza quickly moved for a spot in the back of the cathedral where he could stand without drowning in the ocean of humanity that surrounded him. He could scarcely hear the funeral, but that didn't matter. He was just glad he could pay his respects to his old friend.

As the funeral progressed, Ramza became reminiscent of the old days, when he and Delita fought side by side…

"_Beautiful. Somewhere Teta's watching the same sunset," Delita remarked._

_Ramza consoled him by saying, "…Don't worry, Delita. I'm sure she is OK."_

"…_I've felt out of place for a long time," Delita began._

_Ramza asked, "Are you thinking about what Algus said?"_

"_I guess there are things you can't change no matter what."_

When remembering this phrase that Delita said not one week before the two parted paths, Ramza could not help but feel bad for Delita and powerless at the same time. After all, Ramza could not reclaim his friend from the grave.

Though Delita appeared to use people, his goals were similar to Ramza's, if only more selfish. Delita did die of a broken heart as the first mourner supposed, though he really died three years ago. Delita was found a week ago with his late wife's personal dagger in hand, and a single wound in his chest.

During the lengthy funeral Ramza could not help but think back to the last time he had seen Delita. Delita had met him at Zeltennia Castle's church. Ramza had invited Delita to fight with him again, but Delita said he wanted to stay with Ovelia. When thinking of their last meeting, Ramza remembered his last words to him: _Stay alive, Delita._

At this Ramza gave a slight chuckle. It was too bad he did not listen. Of all the people who could have righted the wrongs of the church, it would have been the beloved King Delita.

_Why didn't Delita right those wrongs? _That question burned into Ramza's mind. Ramza thought on it for a long time, and he decided that the only possible answer was: _Control. _As long as Delita controlled the church, he could maintain control of the people. The people don't want a king who turns their world upside down with the truth. The truth has the power to topple nations, but the people have been made deaf to the truth. The church controlled the people's ability to hear the truth, but as long as Delita controlled the church, he might have had a chance to reveal the truth. But then again, if he had moved to reveal the truth, the church would have fought to the death to conceal the truth. Delita would have lost the control of the church and with it the power over the people. It is true: the people did love their king, but love is fickle. The church could have toppled the king and the king could have toppled the church, but it was in the best interest of each to maintain a balance.

The funeral closed at length, and everyone in the cathedral said, "Farlem" in unison, which led to the mourners slowly flooding the city streets. As Ramza made his way out he heard a constant murmur throughout the crowd. Amidst the conversations around him, Ramza heard the last bit of a conversation that had a particular bit of interest to him.

"What's going to happen to us now? Our king is dead, and we've nobody to lead us. Let's pray we don't have another Lion War."

Ramza too wondered what would happen. On the way back to his inn, Ramza thought about the power structure in Ivalice.

Ancient Ivalice was divided into seven countries of power: Zeltennia in the north-east, Limberry in the east, Gallione in the west, Fovoham in the north-west, Lionel in the south, Murond in the south-west, and the Atkascha kingdom located in Lesalia, at the center of Ivalice.

Ramza went back to the bakery to see if Saira knew if any powers had risen in any of the respective strongholds of Ivalice.

As Saira saw Ramza enter again, she said, "Oh, hello again! Back for some more bread, are you? Or an after lunch pastry?"

"Well no, frankly," came the response. "I've come to see if you know of any noble families who have risen in power to take the place of those that died in the Lion War."

Saira began thinking about it, and at length said, "Well, I don't know. After the fall of the Beoulves, Lord Larg, and Marquis Elmdor, the areas of Gallione and Limberry have had little noble power."

Ramza nodded as Saira spoke.

Saira continued, "And after the fall of Lord Goltana and Cidolfas Orlandu, Zeltennia has been without any nobles of strength and integrity. Fovoham never was too powerful, and the death of Duke Barinten further displayed just how weak Fovoham was to begin with, much less after his death."

Ramza began to think of the days past when he and his friends fought for the truth as Saira listed one after another the leaders who for so long had concealed that truth who were now dead.

Ramza was brought out of his meditations as Saira continued, "Lionel and Murond are both controlled by the Glabados Church, and both the Cardinal Draclau and High Priest Funeral were murdered. The church has selected Cardinal John Minsteare to replace Cardinal Draclau, but they have yet to select a new high priest, though a decision is expected to arrive shortly. It's rumored that King Delita was the cause for the delay, and with his death, the selection can now be made. Until now, all major church decisions have been made in a counsel of Cardinals, which had been influenced greatly by the king."

Ramza filled in the last by saying, "And that leaves the Atkascha kingdom here in Lesalia. With the king and queen dead, there seems to be no one left fit to take the throne."

After a short pause, Ramza asked, "What do you know of the circumstances surrounding the queen's death?"

Saira responded, "Well, it is rumored that the king and queen were attacked on the queen's birthday, and that the king suffered a serious chest wound. The queen died shortly after the attack, and the king became withdrawn. Some suspect the king of foul play, but; how could such a benevolent man kill his wife? And what about his own injuries?"

"I see… well thank you for your time," Ramza replied. "Do you know of a bar where I might hear any rumors about the future ruler? It all seems unclear to me at the moment. I'd like to hear more.

"They may not be open right yet, but the Knight's Haven is an excellent source of information of any sort."

"Thanks. I'll try it out," Ramza said as he made his way to the door.

* * *

The sky was fading to black around the Knight's Haven pub in the business district of Lesalia. Merchants and street venders were beginning to pack up their business for the night, but business for the Knight's Haven pub had yet to begin, and soon the pub would be full of friends and strangers alike enjoying the rumors, music, dance, and the ale that would soon be had that night just as on any other night.

The bartender, a portly fellow by the name of Jake, was wiping down his last table in preparation for the arrival of the night's patrons just as he heard the front door shut. He looked up in time to see his first customer of the night, a cloaked man who had a rugged look about him, take a seat at the bar. As the man's cloak opened when he sat, Jake noticed the man wore a sword close to his body on a belt about his waist.

Fearing the cloaked man was up to something, Jake said, "Look fella', we don't want any trouble around here," in a gruff tone.

The man pulled back his hood to reveal the blonde haired young man beneath, who with a bit of a grin said, "Nor do I. I'll take a glass of milk, please."

Jake was surprised by this order. After surveying his customer with one more sideways glance, Jake said, "Well… that's an interesting order. Not much call for milk around these parts. I suppose you can trust anyone who orders milk at a bar." The fat barkeep then prepared for his new guest a glass of milk. "Here you are," Jake said as he set a glass down in front of Ramza.

"Thanks," came the response from Ramza.

"What business brings you to Lesalia? Surely you've been on many adventures… perhaps you'd care to share in your current one? Surely an adventurer like yourself doesn't feel obliged to pay homage to the king," Jake stated as he found himself puzzled by his first patron.

After taking a sip, Ramza responded, "I'm in town to see an old friend. We parted paths years ago and have yet to catch up. I've been away in Ordalia for business since the Lion War ended, and have returned to catch up on the times."

"What sort of business were you into in Ordalia, if you don't mind my asking," Jake inquired.

"Oh, I can do just about any sort of work. In Ordalia I worked primarily as a mercenary, picking up odd jobs here and there," Ramza replied and added, "By the way, a lot has happened since I was last in Ivalice. You wouldn't happen to know who will take over the throne in the absence of the king, would you?"

Jake shrugged and said, "No… I couldn't tell you. I'll be sure to, if I hear anything though."

By this time the pub began to get busy. A few dancers and a bard began with the entertainment for the night, and the whole pub was soon filled with the constant noise of laughter and conversation. Jake was taking orders from each direction, and he barely had any time to talk with this strange adventurer, which disappointed him a great deal. Jake noticed the young man turn to some other people at the bar and begin in conversation with them. He longed to join them, but knew he had his duties.

"Hello… in for the funeral?" a man to Ramza's left asked. "Bitz's the name… and you?"

"Mr. Ruglia is mine, and to answer the first: yes. How about yourself?" Ramza responded.

Bitz took a drink and replied, "Quite a name you have. I don't suppose it comes with a first?"

"In truth it does," Ramza replied, "But for now Ruglia should suffice. Are you from around here?"

Bitz answered, "Fair enough, Rugie. Well, I live in Zeltennia, but I managed to pay my respects today. I used to have an inn at Zeltennia, but now I mainly work as a mercenary picking up odd jobs from pubs just like this one. From where do you hail?"

Ramza replied, "Such a simple question demands quite an intricate response. I _hail_ from Gallione, but I now reside in Ordalia picking up odd jobs not unlike yourself. So… you wouldn't happen to know what will happen in the absence of the king's leadership, would you?"

"That seems to be the question on the minds of everyone here, I'd wager," Bitz stated. "I think it will come down to the most powerful of the nobles deciding."

Bitz leaned in close to Ramza and said in a hushed voice, "You look like I can trust you with this. Being from Gallione, I'm sure that you've heard of the Beoulve family. Well, I hear tell that the youngest Beoulve is still alive and at large… they never did find his body, did they. The church claimed that he was a blasphemer, but that's because he threatened them. Anyone who poses a threat to the church at the height of their power must certainly be quite powerful themselves."

Ramza, being quite amused, asked, "Ok, I'll give you that, but how does this relate to the throne?"

"Simple," Bitz took a sip from his tankard as he continued. "Anyone who can threaten the church at their height can certainly have enough power to claim the throne. If I had to guess, I'd say that Ramza Beoulve will show up to claim the throne."

Ramza chuckled and then replied, "Well… you certainly tell a good story Bitz, but that won't happen. First off, the church would never allow it, even if he were alive. The church controls the people, and that is something that he could never overcome."

"Well, that is true," Bitz conceded. "I'm just musing after all. Being a mercenary and on the road a lot… I tend to think that the Beoulve got a bad deal from the church. I used to hear things every now and again about the church's schemes. I'm sure you've heard much of the same, eh?"

Ramza replied, "Yeah… you could say that. In truth, it's why I left for Ordalia. At any rate, I don't think he is in contention for the throne, to be sure."

"It's a long shot, to be sure, but a good option in my opinion… that is if he were alive. But I wouldn't tell anyone else that though… no telling who's loyal to the church and who's not," Bitz added as he took a long drink from his ale.

Ramza replied, "Well, you can certainly trust me with your opinion, but I don't suppose it's possible."

It was an interesting supposition, but Ramza knew much better. After thinking on it for a little longer, Ramza turned to another patron and said, "Hello… I was wondering if you happen to know anything about the future ruler of Ivalice. The name is Ruglia."

The man to Ramza's right, who was obviously a mage by his extravagant robe and pointy hat, replied, "The name's Alesta. This seems to be the hot topic of tonight, and I know just as much as anyone else… next to nothing. As far as I know, it may just come down to the toss of a coin."

Ramza added, "Yeah… it wouldn't surprise me, either. The war wiped out all the major nobles and most of the church officials left in Ivalice."

Ironically, Ramza now found himself wondering about the future of Ivalice in the absence of the major nobles and church officials, though; he had personally killed many of them. If was for the good of Ivalice, and all of those he fought were corrupt. But still, Ramza thought: _is no leader better than a corrupt leader? At least a corrupt leader could stave off foreign influence and internal struggle…_What Ramza wanted to know now before he could return to his new life in Ordalia was: would the new power be as corrupt as the old?

Ramza knew deep inside that he had better just leave Ivalice and be on his way back to Ordalia, but he couldn't just leave. The reason that he fought in the beginning was to prevent corrupt powers from using the people. For now, he had to at least confirm that this would not happen again.

Ramza continued his conversations for a while, but after some time, a young woman with long blonde hair and a red dress came in and began surveying the establishment. Once she had her target in sight, she marched over to the bar with no attempt to conceal her anger.

"Where have you been?! You should have been back at the inn at least four hours ago!" the woman exclaimed to Ramza.

Ramza tried to quiet her down as he wispered, "I just wanted to stop by to find out the latest news. Hey… why aren't you waiting at the inn like I asked you to, Alma?"

"Well, I got bored. Do you expect me to wait around all day for you? I was lucky enough to find you here, though."

"Trouble with the misses?" asked Jake, who was standing with a curious look behind the bar.

"No no… this is my sister," Ramza said with a chuckle. Then to Alma, "Well, as long as you're here you may as well stay."

"Alright," Alma replied, with a slight bit of triumph in her tone, as she moved for an open place at the bar next to Ramza. Bitz was by now quite intoxicated, and dancing clumsily to the bard's song. As Alma sat she asked, "Heard any good rumors?"

"Well… I had hoped to find out what might happen for the rule of Ivalice, but nobody really can say." Ramza leaned in close, so nobody but Alma could hear as he pointed to Bitz, saying, "He thinks that _I_ should be the next king… can you believe that rubbish?" Leaning back to his original position, Ramza continued, "Some speculate about the nation's fate, but none really know any facts about any likely ruler to be." His tone hinted that he was tired of asking around with no results.

Jake then leaned in close and suggested, "You know, I was talking to a fella' on the other side of the bar who might know a thing or two about it, and since you were interested, I thought I'd better tell you. It seems that with all the great powers defeated, the senate will be deciding the new king. Marcus Clemence is the senator from Lesalia… I don't rightly know any of the others, though."

Ramza thought about what he had just heard. Until now the senate held little to no power in Ivalice. The land had been ruled by either a monarch or the powerful feuding families. The senate was widely regarded as a useless meeting of arguing old men, but now the fate of Ivalice rested squarely with them. During the time that Queen Ruvelia ruled, she had successfully executed all those who opposed her, including a number of elder senators. Due to their absence, a number of younger, new senators would be deciding the fate of Ivalice, and among them was Marcus Clemence. Little was known about Senator Clemence, though it is said that he is loyal to Glabados Church and a fervent believer of their teachings.

Ramza was snapped out of his thoughts by Jake continuing the rumor, "And it seems that the senator will soon be married to none other than the ousted Queen Ruvelia who until now has been in hiding. Now, I bet you can't guess who he'll appoint as ruler of Ivalice."

Queen Ruvelia- the answer was obvious. Ramza couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But where has she been all this time?" Ramza inquired.

"No one knows," Jake replied, "But the one sure thing is she's back now."

Ramza stated, "By marrying the queen, Clemence would gain a great deal of power. All we can do now is wait and see what he does with that power." At the back of Ramza's mind something kept nagging at him: _Why would Clemence marry such a vindictive woman? She killed so many people to keep her power. The throne isn't worth death._

Having heard all they could take for the evening, Ramza and Alma made their way down the dark street back to their inn a few blocks down the road. Once there, they made their way to their rooms and went to bed with the fate of Ivalice running through their minds.


	2. Chapter 1: The Rule of the Council

Rise of the Valiant  
Chapter One: The Rule of the Council  
JDickensIV

Church bells rang throughout the whole of Lesalia, but this time for a much different reason. The Grand Cathedral was to be the site of the wedding of Marcus Clemence and Ruvelia Atkascha just one month after it was the site of the funeral for King Delita. The wedding did not have as many attendants as the benevolent king's funeral had, but the cathedral was certainly not empty.

Ruvelia was just a few years younger than Senator Clemence, though she had already killed many people to maintain power. Many people questioned her motives in this marriage as much as Marcus Clemence was questioned in his motives. It would seem that no matter their motives, this would be a profitable arrangement for both parties.

Ruvelia had two sons that died soon after birth and a third, Orinas, who was key in Duke Larg's claim to the regency of the throne. Orinas seemed to disappear from existence just as his mother had. It was later revealed that Orinas died at the age of eight, shortly after the Lion War, due to prolonged illness.

At the altar of the Grand Cathedral stood Clemence and Ruvelia side by side in front of Cardinal Steven Prateus, the head of the Glabados Church in Lesalia. The cardinal delivered a speech so long and boring, it rivaled Professor Daravon's in its ability to render a group of people unconscious.

Seeing that his speech was having a negative effect on his audience, Prateus began closing his message. After the vows of commitment were exchanged between Ruvelia and Senator Clemence, Cardinal Prateus concluded the ceremony in saying, "By the power invested in me by the St. Ajora Glabados Church, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May Ajora's divine light and protection ever shine upon your union."

Clemence was now officially Prince Clemence, but he had no power. He was not a king because he had no kingdom, and he had no power because in marrying a fugitive queen, he gained nothing more than a title.

After the new couple exited the cathedral, the wedding guests began rising from their seats and started heading for the exit.

"Lovely wedding: though… you have to wonder…" one spectator stated.

Another replied, "Yes. One has the claim to the throne, and the other has the power to make an appointment to the throne."

"When is the senate council meeting for that appointment, anyway?" the first asked.

"The end of the week, I believe," the other answered. "Though it won't be much of a council. It will likely be a meeting for Senator Clemence to declare Ruvelia queen, giving himself power equaled by no man."

XXX

Olan Durai woke in his personal chamber in the imperial palace on the Saturday scheduled for the senate to decide on the successor of the throne with a number of things on his mind.

He agreed to be Delita Hyral's right hand man for the sole purpose of clearing his stepfather's name. The meeting of the senate seemed to be the best place to present his report, which he had collected during Delita's five years of rule. He knew it would be tough, and likely impossible, to clear his stepfather Cid and his ally Ramza's names, but he knew he had to try. With Delita dead, he would likely no longer have access to anyone of political power for some time after the senate made it's appointment. It had to be today.

As he sat on the side of his bed thinking about what he had to do, someone knocked at his door.

"Come in," Olan said.

Olan's personal servant Durcil came in bearing a tray full of fruits and other various foods to be had for breakfast.

"Set them down over there," Olan said as he motioned toward a table in the center of his room.

"Is everything alright, sir?" Durcil inquired.

Olan began, "Durcil… I want to ask you something. Is it alright for a man to neglect the truth for his own well being?"

Durcil thought for a moment, "Well… if a man is true to himself, that is all one can ask."

"Thank you, Durcil. You may leave," Olan replied.

Durcil's words stuck with Olan for some time. Olan knew what he had to do. In order to remain true to himself, he could not neglect the truth: even if it meant death.

With that settled in his mind, Olan looked to his breakfast tray. He tried to eat as much as he could, knowing full well that it may be his last meal as a free man. When he had eaten his fill, he put on his general's uniform, which he had otherwise reserved for the most special of occasions. He wore a breastplate with the double-headed black and white lion etched into the metal, the insignia Delita had taken from the Atkascha family. He also wore a black and white checkered cape bearing the very same insignia. His hair, which was usually up in a ponytail, was now down about his shoulders.

When he was fully dressed, Olan made his way to the senatorial chambers in the opposite wing of the palace. On the way to the senate, Olan took special notice of the beauty within the palace. He doubted he would ever see it again.

Portraits were hung throughout the halls of the palace of the various rulers of the Atkascha line. Each was framed with gold, and each quite sizeable to say the least. The largest of these stretched from the floor to the ceiling twelve feet above. The palace had plenty of windows, which allowed for an abundance of light to filter in and give off a brilliant yellow radiance throughout the palace.

Olan knew he would miss this palace, but he could not live with himself without first telling the truth. After some time he came to the senatorial chamber. A servant and two guards were outside to prevent the senators from being disturbed by unwanted visitors while they made their decision.

Olan dispensed with pleasantries. "I am here to see the senators," he said, addressing the servant.

The servant replied, "I am sorry, but no one is allowed to enter."

Olan was dismayed at this. To have built up the courage to tell the truth only to find he would not be allowed to do so. He made an attempt at persuasion in saying, "You must tell the senators that I have information pertaining to their decision."

"Very well," the servant replied. "I shall see."

And with that said the servant cautiously pried open the double doors, and entered the chamber.

XXX

The meeting was held in the senatorial chambers within the imperial palace at Lesalia. There were seven senators in all: Marcus Clemence of Lesalia, Robert Magrat of Gariland Magic City in Gallione, Gerald Lespeaux of Riovanes in Fovoham, Leon Falsiand of Lionel, Cardinal Prateus represented Murond, Nathaniel Corthos of Zeltennia, and Sean Barteaux of Limberry. Each was of a respected noble family, but none of which had held much power until now. They sat in a circular room with chairs positioned in a circle to represent the equal vote that each region would receive.

Senator Corthos, being the eldest of the senators, began the council saying, "Alright gentlemen. A great decision rests in our hands. As you all know, the king is dead, and with him are all the leaders of each of Ivalice's respected regions. We are charged with the task of deciding the fate of Ivalice."

Senator Magrat took the floor in saying, "Now: who should we choose? There are hardly any nobles left of noble character. The Beoulves have all died out, as has the line of Marquis Elmdor."

"The former queen still lives," added Senator Clemence.

"Yes, we all know of your designs on the throne. I for one would rather see to it that all other options are spent before reverting to the former monarch," replied Senator Barteaux.

"What other options?" questioned Clemence. "There are no nobles left with dignity and honor. If only Cidolfas Orlandu were alive."

It seemed that the public opinion of Prince Clemence's power was greatly overestimated. Though he was in the senate, he would have a difficult time persuading the other senators to declare Ruvelia queen.

At this time, a servant entered the room bearing a message for the council. "Sirs, I have a message from one Olan Durai. The general brings evidence of pertinence in the matter of the appointment to the throne."

"Send him in," ordered Corthos.

Next to enter the room was Olan Durai. The young man carried with him a stack of papers entitled the "Durai Report." He presented the papers to Senator Corthos, who said, "What is this?"

Olan replied, "It is a compilation of the events that took place during the Lion War. I have gathered this report over the past five years, and it tells the truth about what went on behind the war. In it, you will find the story of Ramza Beoulve. From this report you can only conclude that, though you believe the line of honorable nobles is spent, there is still one noble who is honorable enough for the throne: Ramza Beoulve. He was the true hero behind the war, and I believe he may still be alive. This report will also clear my father's name. He was no traitor."

After reading the document, Corthos replied at length, "Are you suggesting that we appoint a heretic and murderer to the throne? That is ludicrous. Just by writing this you are also subject to the penalty of heresy. What do you say in you defense?"

Olan replied, "I only speak the truth. Some day the church's lies will be revealed. I simply wanted to clear my father's name, and now I have done that. You can punish me as you will, but you can never hide the truth."

After all had read the report Olan searched the faces of each of the senators, each of them averted their gaze. Shortly, Olan asked the group, "Is there no one who believes the truth? Are you all blind?! Delita manipulated everyone for self gain! He was no hero! Ramza fought for justice, for what is right. How can you not believe this? The other nobles fight for power, but Ramza fought for the people."

Cardinal Prateus replied harshly, "It is you who is blind! Ramza murdered countless nobles and leaders of the church! He murdered Cardinal Draclau, and he'd do the same to you for looking at him wrong! No such man is 'noble.' Delita stopped the war and put an end to the hardship. It was Ramza who likely killed most of the nobles that would have otherwise been considered for the throne!"

Leon Falsiand spoke up saying, "That's right! And according to you, he even tricked Cidolfas Orlandu into believing this nonsense."

"Not mention he's deceived Meliadoul Tingel of the Temple Knights and even the loyal Agrias Oaks of the St. Konoe Knights," mentioned Gerald Lespeaux.

Olan began again, "You are not listening. What you believe to be true is nothing further from it. What Ramza did was for justice, and my father was not 'tricked' into anything. Ramza simply showed them the truth, and they believed him. They could not deny the truth after witnessing first hand how the church had lied. How can you all deny it? Will you not listen to reason?"

"That is enough," Corthos broke in. "It pains me to do this, but… guards!" The two guards entered the room on command. "Take this man to the dungeon where he will await his trial and sentencing."

After the guards had left, Corthos began again, "Now… back to the subject at hand. If we have no more interruptions, we must decide on the successor to the throne. It would be pointless for us to simply vote for our separate favorite nobles. We must first discuss the candidates and weed out the weaker choices."

"What about Halis Sadalfas of Limberry? He is an honorable man if there is such a thing," Senator Barteaux suggested.

"Honorable indeed!" exclaimed Gerald Lespeaux. "Do you not know of his lineage? His father was a traitor. He's hardly seen any battles. How do you expect such a man to rule a nation?"

Obviously angered by this, as he was a close friend of Halis' Senator Barteaux retorted, "Honor is not derived from lineage! Look at the man before you judge his quality. In regard to his experience in battle; he did not see time in the Fifty Years War, but he did prove himself in Marquis Elmdor's Aegis Knights."

"Yes, I know he fought in the Aegis Knights. Now tell me… didn't Marquis Elmdor die in battle at Fuse Plains from a stray arrow while fighting with his Aegis Knights?" asked Lespeaux.

"Yes he did. Everyone knows that," replied Barteaux.

"Marquis Elmdor was known well for his suit of genji armor. Now, the likelihood of an arrow finding its way past the great genji shield and through the practically impenetrable genji armor when _it was not even intended to do so_ is impossible. The shield alone would have dispelled any enemy fire, intentional or not. The only way to avoid this is to fire from behind," Senator Lespeaux started.

Senator Barteaux broke in saying, "Now do get on with it. Just what are you saying?"

"What I am saying is that someone from Marquis Elmdor's own troops killed him," Senator Lespeaux began again as he slowly eased to his point. "In order to pierce the Marquis' genji armor, whether it be by the front or the back, one must have great accuracy. Now tell me, isn't the Sadalfas family well known for their proficient use of crossbows?"

Obviously enraged, Senator Barteaux responded, "Just what are you getting at!?"

"The Sadalfas family is known for much more than their archery Senator Barteaux," Lespeaux continued. "They are also known quite well for their treachery. Halis is descended of traitors, and likely is one himself. Such a man is not suited for the throne."

"That is not for you but the senate to decide. I would have it set to a vote," suggested Barteaux, his temper cooling.

"Very well," Senator Corthos broke into the dispute, "We shall set it to a vote. Those in favor of Halis Sadalfas to be considered further for the appointment to the throne say 'aye'." Senator Corthos began around the room, addressing each senator separately:

"Senator Clemence"

"Nay"

"Senator Magrat"

"Nay"

"Senator Lespeaux"

"Nay"

"Cardinal Prateus"

"Aye"

"Senator Falsiand"

"Aye"

"Senator Barteaux"

"Aye"

"With the vote tied," Senator Corthos continued, "I vote nay. Halis Sadalfas will not be considered further for the appointment to the throne. Does anyone else have a suggestion for the consideration of this senate?"

At length Robert Magrat said, "There are few nobles left in Gallione. The fall of the Beoulves left us with few noble families of heritage and loyalty. There is still one, though they are not as well known as the great Beoulve name once was. Andrew Bogrian is the eldest son in the Bogrian line, and he has proven himself in battle, having commanded a regiment of the Hokuten Knights. He was not undefeated like Zalbag Beoulve, but he did have many victories. After all, what does an undefeated reputation mean if you fall to a stray arrow?"

This last comment was an attempt at humor, but Senator Barteaux did not find it humorous. Thinking it was a reflection of the opinion Robert Magrat held of Barteaux's former leader, Barteaux stood as he responded heatedly, "And what sort of reputation do you have?! Rather than prove yourself in battle you hide in the library! Who are you to comment on the reputation of Marquis Elmdor?!"

Senator Magrat stood and reached for his belt. Hoping to intervene before swords were drawn, Senator Corthos yelled, "Silence! This is a senate, not a schoolyard. We will only discuss matters pertinent to the matter at hand. Any who object to this may promptly forfeit his chair and his vote."

Both Magrat and Barteaux were startled by this announcement. They both took their seats, having weighed the consequences of continuing their squabble.

"As I was saying," Senator Magrat continued, "Andrew Bogrian is in my opinion a viable choice to be considered."

"Well, it is a good thing your opinion is not all that counts in the vote of the senate," remarked Senator Falsiand. "I know of this Bogrian. To say that he is not undefeated is a grave understatement. He has won less than half of his battles. He has displayed a total lack of command, relying on his officers to carry out the battle rather than seeing it done himself. By the end of the war, more than half of the soldiers in his command had deserted the Hokuten. Deserters were not uncommon in the Lion War, but Andrew Bogrian had nearly twice the number of deserters than any other commander. Imagine if that leadership were applied to the whole country."

In response to these allegations, Senator Magrat said, "There is no way of knowing just what affect Bogrian has had on the men in his command. Many other factors besides leadership affect a person when deciding to defect. The blame can't rest squarely on Andrew Bogrian."

"The blame does not rest squarely on him without reason," Falsiand responded. "The 'other factors' you speak of can only account for so much of the blame. If he had only ten percent, or even twenty-five percent we could easily say he had no control over this, just as the other commanders, but Andrew Bogrian had more than fifty percent of his troops desert him."

"Hard times cause people to be upset. Andrew Bogrian was against impossible odds, sometimes even fighting T. G. Cid. It is a wonder he even attained as many victories as he did. With the constant pressure he faced from Cidolfas Orlandu at Doguola Pass, it is understandable that he had above average desertion," Senator Magrat argued.

Senator Falsiand replied, "Suppose he is named king and Ordalia reinvades. If they have a 'T. G. Cid' of their own, will he be able to handle the pressure and repel them? If he even displays the slightest lack in confidence the people will fall. I am not willing to gamble the future of Ivalice on a fifty percent chance of victory that will result from the appointment of Andrew Bogrian."

"Well then, shall we have another vote?" Senator Magrat suggested.

In the same process as before, Senator Corthos said, "All those in favor of further consideration of Andrew Bogrian for appointment to the throne say 'aye.'" And around the room he went again:

"Senator Clemence"

"Nay"

"Senator Magrat"

"Aye"

"Senator Lespeaux"

"Aye"

"Cardinal Prateus"

"Nay"

"Senator Falsiand"

"Nay"

"Senator Barteaux"

"Nay"

"And I vote nay," Senator Corthos concluded, "The vote stands five to two. Andrew Bogrian will not be considered further for the throne. Is there another who might be considered?"

"The Fovoham region may be less fancy and cultured than others but our nobles, few though they are, are as brave as any other," stated Senator Lespeaux. "Richard Ardonais from Riovanes is a proven warrior having been a charter member as a fencer in Duke Barinten's assassin group Kamyuja. He is well learned, being quite skilled in the magic arts as well."

"But what kind of reputation will that give us senators having given the throne to an assassin?" asked Senator Barteaux. "Do we really want to give the throne to such a dangerous man? Everyone knows that assassins are the shadiest sort of people there is: no one can trust them. How can we expect to entrust in him the fate of Ivalice with any amount of confidence?"

"He has honor. Just because he fights with stealth does not mean he can not be trusted," Senator Lespeaux responded.

"There you are wrong, senator," Senator Barteaux remarked. "The most dangerous type of person is one who is unpredictable. With a known evil, you at least know what to expect, but with someone like Richard Ardonais, we don't know what to expect. One who uses 'stealth' in fighting will undoubtedly use it in politics. With politics like that, there is no telling where your allies lie. I want at least the nature of the motives of the next king of Ivalice to be known."

"Well, I have nothing more to say in the defense of Richard Ardonais. If the other members have nothing to add, I would have this voted on," Lespeaux stated.

After no response from the other senators, Senator Corthos said, "Alright. Now it comes to a vote. All those in favor of further consideration of Richard Ardonais for appointment to the throne say 'aye'." And again, around the circle the senator asked:

"Senator Clemence"

"Nay"

"Senator Magrat"

"Aye"

"Senator Lespeaux"

"Aye"

"Cardinal Prateus"

"Nay"

"Senator Falsiand"

"Aye"

"Senator Barteaux"

"Nay"

"With the vote tied, I vote 'nay,'" Senator Corthos said. "Who has the next suggestion for the throne?"

Cardinal Prateus suggested, "What about Cardinal John Minsteare? He has been a successful pagan examiner for ten years prior to the time that he retired to replace Cardinal Draclau of Lionel. He has proved himself to the people and to the church. Surely a man of such faith is a good choice as king."

Senator Falsiand added, "Yes, and in working within close proximity to the cardinal I know he is a good man. He is kind and a stern leader. There can not be a better candidate for the throne."

"That may be true," remarked Senator Magrat, "But doesn't the church have enough power? The church already has the love and faith of the people, and combined with the authority of the crown, it would be too great a power for one man."

"I agree with Senator Magrat," added Senator Lespeaux. "Too much power is not good. We have seen in the past what people who desire power can do. Too many lives have been lost fighting for power. We have a delicate balance of power between the nobles, the church, and the monarchy. If we tip the scales in any one direction, namely in the direction of the church, the structure will be disrupted. No matter how good a king we have in the cardinal, there will always be those who desire the power that was lost to the church, and at which time war will be inevitable."

"Your point is taken, but I would still like to see the opinion of the senate through a vote," replied Cardinal Prateus.

"All those in favor of further considering Cardinal John Minsteare for appointment to the throne say 'aye,'" stated Senator Corthos, who was beginning to feel the monotony of this council.

"Senator Clemence"

"Nay"

"Senator Magrat"

"Nay"

"Senator Lespeaux"

"Nay"

"Cardinal Prateus"

"Aye"

"Senator Falsiand"

"Aye"

"Senator Barteaux"

"Nay"

"With the vote four to two, my vote does not matter. The Cardinal John Minsteare will not be considered further for the throne. Is there not another suitable noble to become king?" asked Corthos.

Seeing that this meeting would not soon be resolved, and when none spoke up, Senator Corthos offered a proposal.

"Judging by the light outside, it is well after supper time, and there seems to be no end in sight for this subject. I propose we reconvene after breakfast tomorrow morning. Any opposed to this?" the senator asked.

All the senators were exhausted and there were none that had any desire to continue.

"Very well. We will meet in the morrow."

As Senator Clemence rose, he was not totally discouraged. Though his proposal for the queen to be reinstated was quickly avoided, it was not entirely prevented. The senate never took an official vote on the matter. He was a prince with no power, but that would soon be remedied.

The senators all filed out of the chamber, and each walked down the halls until they arrived at their personal chambers. After a short time, Marcus Clemence came to his chamber. He lifter the latch on the door and proceeded through.

XXX

In his private chambers, Cardinal Prateus was just about to retire for the night when a knock came from his chamber door. Slightly puzzled, the cardinal sent a questioning glance towards the door, and then at length said, "Come in."

The door opened slightly, and Prateus' late night guest swiftly entered.

"Ah, Senator Clemence," the cardinal greeted his unexpected guest. Though by definition he was a prince, no one addressed him as such because he had no kingdom as of yet. Prateus continued in a false curious tone, "What brings you here at this hour? You really had better not be seen, you know."

The senator responded, "Yes, I know, and that is precisely why we must discuss the matter at hand with haste."

Continuing with his false tone, the cardinal asked, "Why… what matter would that be?"

Clemence glared at the cardinal with a hard, stony look and said, "The matter for which we are called as a senate. We are called here to find a king, and I assure you that the best option for both of us stands before you now."

Abandoning his false curiosity for the real thing, Prateus asked, "I can see how this may aid you, senator, but tell me: how is this to benefit me?"

Continuing swiftly to his point, Clemence replied, "There are things in this world that prevent and aid anyone in their advancement. You should know this as well as any, having become a cardinal in such a short time."

This was very true. Prateus was only thirty-five, and due to his excellent service as well as the recent loss of several church officials, he was able to swiftly climb the ladder of success.

Cardinal Prateus tried to prod Clemence further by asking, "What are you getting at? What do you have in mind?"

Continuing, Clemence stated, "It's simple, really. The recent developments revealed by Olan Durai have confirmed one thing: Ramza Beoulve is still alive, as are all of his allies. The greatest detriment to the Glabados Church alive and at large, and the whole of the Glabados Church has no idea… except for you."

Clemence clearly had captivated the cardinal. He paused for a response, but when none came, he pressed into further detail:

"Now, let us suppose that you call the church to the attention of this heretic. You would be in prime position to head the search. Now, it is certain that for you age, you cannot be considered as a possible High Priest, but the catching of Ivalice's most renowned heretic and his allies would put you in good standing to be High Priest by the time the next High Priest dies."

Cardinal Prateus broke in and asked, "And how do you fit into all of this? Why don't I just do as you say and be done with your scheming?"

Senator Clemence continued, "I was getting to that. The 'great' King Delita was so great because he kept the church under his thumb. You above all must know. The church officials could not sneeze without asking his permission."

The cardinal nodded in agreement.

At this Clemence continued again, "Now, if we leave the appointment to the throne up to the senate, that is dangerous. None could be sure if the church would even be allowed to conduct a search. With me as your king, I could guarantee that you alone would be in charge of rounding up the heretics."

At length, Prateus replied, "I see… but what about your new wife? She is cruel and power-hungry. She will surely kill you for the power you seek."

Clemence assured him by saying, "Not if I kill her first. I have already planned it out. She is key to my claim as king, nothing more. Once I am declared king, she must die. She will not kill me until she is queen again, and by that time it will be too late for her."

It took some time, but Cardinal Prateus replied, "Hmmm… Alright, but how are we to secure you as king?"

Clemence simply stated, "The church owns Lionel, and as such, you own Senator Falsiand. You will speak to him tonight, and I will speak with the younger senators Barteaux and Magrat. It should not take me much to sway them to our cause. Corthos and Lespeaux should not be able to hold out with all of us against them if it comes to a conflict, but I do not expect that it should. With the others on our side, this should all run quite smoothly."

With a short farewell, Senator Clemence took his leave of Cardinal Prateus and each set about their separate tasks.

Clemence and Prateus both exited the cardinal's chamber. Cardinal Prateus made for Senator Falsiand's room as Clemence made his way just down the hall to Senator Barteaux's chamber. Once there, he knocked twice and awaited the response from within.

Barteaux called out, "Who's there?"

"Marcus Clemence… may I come in?"

After a short time of deliberation, Barteaux opened the door and said, "Please… come in. Now… what brings you here at this hour I wonder. Though, I did expect your visit, actually.

Clemence replied, "Ah. Well, that should help speed things up a little bit. In short, I want you to help me become king, Sean."

Barteaux answered, "Hah! And why should I do that? What happens when we all decide that we want to become king, eh? What's to stop us from having a seven-way 'Lion War'?"

Clemence answered, "It's simple, really. Earlier today we discussed such notable names as the Beoulves, Cidolfas, and the Marquis Elmdor. Now, what made these noble's as powerful as they were? The answer is easy to come to: they had great heritage and were successful in both the 'Fifty Years War' and the 'Lion War.'"

Barteaux asked, "And why are you saying this? What is your point?"

Clemence continued, "The only distinction between me, you, Senator Magrat and the might nobles of the war is that they were veterans of war while we were too young to participate but for the latter parts of the 'Lion War.' The people view them as being greater nobles because of their families' record for success in battle, as well as their own success. With the absence of these heroic families, there is a place for us to rise up, but we have yet to be tested. What we need is a war."

"I see…" Barteaux mused. "And I suppose as king, you will deliver this war for us? And what of your wife? She couldn't possibly go along with you pulling the strings."

Clemence answered, "Exactly. I have a plan in mind already. The glory and spoils of war will soon be ours. As for my wife, she is key to my claim as king… that is all. As soon as I am made king, she will be a fading memory. I have already swayed Prateus, who is as we speak talking with Falsiand. When I am made king we can discuss further the war, and your part in my plans."

"…Hmmm… very well. I will back you," Barteaux replied.

The hour was now quite late indeed. Instead of heading straight for Senator Magrat's chamber, Clemence made for his own. He decided it best to leave his discussion with Magrat for breakfast in the morning.

XXX

The following morning, Senator Clemence quickly ate his breakfast and swiftly made the way down the hall to Senator Magrat's chamber. Clemence knocked once, and then entered without hesitation.

Magrat looked up from his breakfast and exclaimed, "Marcus! What brings you here, I wonder? Could it have anything to do with your late night adventures into the other senators' rooms?"

"How did you know about that?" Clemence asked.

Magrat answered, "Now, don't be alarmed… Barteaux saw me last night."

Clemence could fell the sweat gathering on his brow as he asked, "And what do you think of it?"

Magrat took a bite of his bacon as he replied, "Well, it's a crude plan, and I would certainly want to know more, but we don't have much time right now. Perhaps you can tell me all the dirty little details after you are crowned king?"

"So you are for it, then?" Clemence pressed Magrat further nervously.

"As much as I would like to see you sweat it out even more… I must say that it intrigues me," Magrat answered. "I would certainly like to see my family rise to the honor of the Beoulves. I will back you, but you must promise me that you will tell me your full plan when time allows."

Clemence, much relieved, said, "Of course. Now I must return to my chamber before suspicions are aroused."

After a short time of solitude in his room, Clemence made once again for the Senatorial Chamber. Once every senator had arrived in his place, Senator Corthos said, "Alright, let us begin again. I hope you all rested well, because this has the makings of another long day. Now, who has a likely candidate for discussion?"

"Indeed the balance of power between the nobles, church, and the monarch is important not to disrupt," Senator Clemence spoke up. "This is quite a predicament. We need to find someone who won't disturb the balance, who has proven himself to the people, and who has honor and strength to lead. That is a long list to fill for sure, but there is one who fits it. The former Queen Ruvelia would not tip the scale in favor of the nobles or the church. She has already proven herself as a great leader for the people. The only reason the Lion War broke out was because of her weak husband Omdolia. You all know that she no longer has a weak husband. You know me to be a wise and strong leader, who will listen to counsel when it is given. I know of no man here who would question my honor. Clearly there is no better choice for the crown in order to protect the delicate balance between monarch, noble, and church. With the support of each noble here the rest of Ivalice can be reunited under Queen Ruvelia."

At length Cardinal Prateus said, "This does seem quite convenient for you Senator Clemence, but I have no reason to doubt your motives for the sake of Ivalice. I have known you many years, and have come to trust you as a friend."

Senator Magrat then said, "Well, I see no reason why we must put off the final vote. We have exhausted every other possibility. Let us hold a vote not to continue debating further, but to make a final decision."

Senator Corthos replied, "Well… if none object. The vote must be unanimous. All those in favor of reinstating Queen Ruvelia to the throne say 'aye.'" As before the senator asked around the circle:

"Senator Clemence"

"Aye"

"Senator Magrat"

"Aye"

"Senator Lespeaux"

"Aye"

"Cardinal Prateus"

"Aye"

"Senator Falsiand"

"Aye"

"Senator Barteaux"

"Aye"

"After careful consideration," Senator Corthos said, "I vote in favor of Queen Ruvelia being reinstated to the throne. The vote is unanimous. Ruvelia Clemence will be reinstated as Queen of Ivalice."

Each senator stood and congratulated their new king. Clemence had achieved his goal. Though the king had his own aspirations, he was still honorable as well as loyal to the church.

Clemence rose and said to the senators, "Thank you all, my friends. As my first act as king, I will hold the trial fro the heretic Olan Durai. His sentencing will be carried out by the end of the week."


	3. Chapter 2: The Stir

Rise of the Valiant  
Chapter Two: The Stir  
JDickensIV

The dining hall at Lesalia Imperial Castle, which was usually ablaze with light in the splendor of the sun, was now lit by the dancing flames of torches all about the hall, aided only slightly by the pale winter's moon. The grand dinning table that usually rested within the great hall had been set aside and replaced with a much more personable table that could seat six.

The celebration for the new king and queen had been less than enthusiastic throughout Lesalia. Had the reception for the nation's new monarchs been more heartfelt, the celebration may have well carried into the next morning both in and out of the castle. But as it was, Clemence thought it best to celebrate among friends at a small, tasteful dinner. Around the table sat Clemence, Ruvelia, Senator Magrat, and Senator Barteaux.

As dinner began drawing to an end, Ruvelia rose from her seat and addressed Clemence, "Marcus, dear, I'm off to bed. Don't be long, now." And with that she left for the king and queen's personal quarters.

When she had made her way out of the dinning hall, Clemence hurriedly retrieved three bottles from inside his clothes. He handed one to Magrat and another to Barteaux as he said, "Here… drink this quickly now."

Clemence addressed the questioning looks in saying, "Let's just say, it will keep you from experiencing any advantageous side effects from our meal. My wife, on the other hand, may not be as fortunate as you." At this all three drank deeply until all the vials had been emptied.

Wasting no time, Magrat said, "Well, this may address my first question, but I must ask… am I correct in assuming the queen will not last the night?"

Clemence answered coolly, "You would be correct in your assumption."

Both Magrat and Barteaux looked relieved to know the brutal Ruvelia would be out of power for good. Barteaux then mused, "Hmmm… Good. Now, what of this war of yours? Do you intend to hold to your promise?"

Magrat added, "Yes, and what of our roles in this? War does us little good if we are to set idle at home while others claim the glory."

Clemence addressed them both as he explained, "War will be ours my friends, and your roles depend on the level of your loyalty. As our forces stand, we are ill suited for a war… particularly one on foreign soil. In order to fight our war, we will need to recruit, but such that my forces are, I can scarcely have any spare men to recruit or to train any new soldiers. You will both be key in the recruitment and training of my men."

Barteaux then asked, "Just how many soldiers are we going to recruit? If you haven't forgotten, neither of us has the forces necessary to raise an entire army. All we have is the remnants of the late king's army. In Zeltennia we have a basic garrison with few nobles training, but nothing on the scale of full scale invasion."

Magrat added, "Yes, and in Gallione, the Royal Magic Academy is still operating, as well as the noble's academy, but like Sean said: we don't have sufficient forces to train and maintain your armies."

Clemence assured the senators, "My friends, you are half of the way to our destination and you haven't taken the first step. The first step is to spread the word. I do realize that all of our forces are quite limited, but you are forgetting something: it doesn't cost anything to recruit anxious men save word of mouth."

Magrat chimed in, "Yes, this is all well and good, but we will need to train these men sometime. What are we to do when the time comes and we have no forces to do so?"

Clemence replied in turn, "A step at a time, my friends. All you need know is that by this month's end, I will dispatch sufficient forces to both Gariland and Limberry for preliminary training to commence. Of course, more will follow, and by the time your first recruits are trained, you will be staffed well enough to train all you can get. Now, I know the hour is certainly late, but I wonder if the three of us might venture out from this hall in search of company that may attest to our whereabouts this night."

Wasting no more time, the three abandoned their discussion and their long neglected dinners for more numerous company to be found elsewhere.

XXX

Gallione has been known for producing great heroes and mages, especially in times of war and strife. The Royal Magic Academy, which is based in the aptly named Gariland 'Magic City,' has had a long history of producing mages of great ability.

Every year, a test for all students within the academy is administered which has been quite effective in distinguishing the gifted from the ordinary. A prize of ten thousand gil is awarded to those who pass, but only one in every six hundred participants actually passes it. In the entire history of the Royal Magic Academy, only two people have ever made a perfect score on the exam. One was the famed Elidibs, who disappeared from all public knowledge shortly after he made a huge contribution to Ivalice's success in the Fifty Years War. The other who had tested so well was only twelve years old at the time: a natural student taking the exam in his first year of studies.

Five years later, the young Prince Mickey Kappa sat alone in his dormitory in the Royal Magic Academy. The exam is available for any enrolled student to take, but students aren't eligible to graduate until after years of study.

For the past five years, Mickey had worked towards graduation, not having any other goals for which to strive. The Lion War was over by the time he had completed the exam, and combat and study were the only practical practices of a mage. Since there was no combat to be had, study was all that was left for him to fall back on.

Now, just two weeks until the winter break before his final semester, Mickey sat in his dormitory with dreams of battle and honor racing through his mind. In his hand was a notice:

In Accordance With Prince Clemence's Command  
Lord Robert Magrat Is Now Recruiting  
Citizens of Gallione  
Into The Service of The Prince's  
Lesalia St. Konoe Knights…  
All Interested Citizens May Inquire  
At Your Local Soldier Office

Finally… after five years of sitting around, waiting for a purpose that took place outside of a library, his time had come.

After a short time, Mickey's roommate Blake entered and broke the silence saying, "Hey, Mick. What have you got there?"

Mickey held up the notice and said, "They're recruiting en masse! Finally, I can get a chance to explore something other than the spine of a book."

Blake replied, "You're not joining, are you?"

"Of course I am!" Mickey answered. "What, did you think I would stay here to rot and die in the academy library?"

"It's better than dying before you're twenty in some far off land," Blake countered. "Besides… what would your father say? He is a prince after all, and you his heir."

Mickey answered, "Prince indeed. He may have traced his heritage back to some distant king of Gallione, but his and my title both mean little in this day and age. I strive to restore the meaning to our name, and he should respect that. My father aside… wouldn't you like to explore the world outside of this academy?"

After a short pause, Blake replied, "Well, yeah… but I was concerned for your sake about jumping into this. I really don't think your father would go for it. It would be nice to enlist together, assuming your father would approve. When will you see him next? At the break, I presume?"

"Yeah…" Mickey replied. "But I guarantee… me and you will join up together regardless of what he has to say on the matter."

XXX

Alma woke with a start. She glanced around her and gave a sigh at recognizing her surroundings. Though the day was still young, she quickly made her way into the hall at the back of the Dragon's Den Inn. She knocked twice at the door opposite her own and waited.

After a short time, Ramza answered the knock… sword drawn. At this sight Alma said, "Well, I can see that you are on edge as well. May I come in?"

Ramza opened the door all the way and said, "I'm always on edge… please, have a seat," as he gestured to a nearby coffee table.

As Alma seated herself, she asked, "Please tell me, why do we linger still? What more do we owe this country?"

Ramza thought for a short while, and realized that he did not have a suitable answer, but he knew that something deep within called him to stay. He answered Alma by saying, "We may not owe Ivalice anything anymore, but I feel like I can't leave until I see for myself that this country will stabilize on its own. We've spent years fighting the corrupt here in Ivalice, and I just want to know that all our toil will not be for naught. This is my homeland after all."

Alma responded, "Well, it is no longer my home… at least I can sleep sound in Ordalia."

After a little awkward silence, Ramza said, "Well… the new king has been chosen. I don't suppose we have much more to worry about. No riots have erupted that I'm aware of. We will go home tomorrow."

Alma, greatly relieved at this said, "Too bad we couldn't leave today, but I suppose we will be needing to restock our supplies and prepare for the journey."

Ramza said, "Yes, we will. I'll make my way around town collecting the supplies we need…" and recognizing the look on his sister's face added, "and I suppose there will be no leaving you here this time?"

Alma answered, "You're starting to learn, aren't you?"

"Well, you were never one to be left out of anything… even if your life was threatened," Ramza commented.

Alma, being a bit miffed said, "You know well that I would've been in just as much trouble if I hadn't gone with you… and maybe more. Now, if you don't have any more cutting remarks, I'll be in my room getting ready for the day."

Ramza apologized saying, "I didn't mean my remarks to come across so negatively. You have a forceful will, and that is nothing to be ashamed of. I'm just glad you're still alive… despite it."

Alma burst, "Oh! Can you go two minutes without ridiculing me!?"

Ramza chuckled and replied, "I wasn't ridiculing you… I am genuinely glad that you are alive. After all, you are the only person I trust. Now, hurry up to your room. We have a big day ahead of us."

XXX

The garrison at Zeltennia Castle was now all but empty, save for a few nobles who still lived and trained there. At the time, only twenty nobles were housed and currently training at the garrison, though it had a capacity for a hundred times that number.

Two such nobles were busy sparring under the tutelage of Headmaster Gradeyk. Under normal circumstances, the headmaster would not generally participate in the everyday lessons, but as there were only twenty students, Gradeyk felt compelled to personally instruct his students whenever possible. Gradeyk especially enjoyed instructing the young Pappal McEnroe.

Though he was quite young, Pappal was fast on his way to knighthood and beyond. At the age of sixteen, he was already just weeks away from being knighted, and many believed that he would not stop there. He would have been knighted much earlier, but with the death of the king, his ceremony was unavoidably delayed.

Pappal and his good friend Vincent Tildéa, who had also been scheduled for knighthood, were now battling each other. They were well matched, Vincent having a full year's experience over Pappal, though Pappal had more drive. Vincent, being a year older than Pappal, was not considerably lazy to be awaiting knighthood with his young friend, but rather Pappal was exceptionally enthusiastic bordering on being overzealous.

It was this zeal that often drew crowds around Pappal when he sparred with anyone, especially Vincent, and this fight was no exception. A large crown now gathered as the fighting grew ever more intense.

Vincent blocked high and then lunged to strike, but was not quick enough as his blade was batted to the side with a flick of Pappal's wrist. Pappal then flicked his wrist again and slapped Vincent's hand with the flat of his blade. Vincent swung angrily and missed entirely as Pappal stepped aside and swiftly delivered the deathblow to the nape of Vincent's neck.

"Well done!" Headmaster Gradeyk congratulated Pappal as the two combatants replaced their wooden swords to their original place upon the shelves on the far wall of the training facility. "Now, Vincent… though you are becoming a knight, it is all the more important that you learn to tame your emotions in combat."

Vincent rubbed the red area on his neck as he conceded, "Yes, headmaster."

Gradeyk continued, "Your emotions in battle can help you to achieve victory, but you must first learn to take hold of your emotions, lest your emotions take hold of you."

Vincent answered, "I will remember that, master Gradeyk."

As Pappal and Vincent were making their way out of the garrison's training hall, Pappal remarked with a chuckle, "Well… you had better remember it. I can't watch your back all the time, you know."

Vincent replied, "Yeah… keep laughing. You know, it's your back you should be watching." He then asked, "Seriously now, are you going back home for break?"

Pappal answered, "Don't remind me… I hate going home… I can't stand my father."

Vincent ventured to say, "You know… he isn't really that bad… your father. So what if he never served in battle?"

Pappal answered, "So what!? So what!? I'll tell you what. All my life I've had to hear about the exploits of other people's fathers. What could I tell anyone who brings up my father?"

"But your father is still no less a good man…" Vincent tried.

Pappal answered, "This is all easy for you to say… your father fought in the 50 Years War. My father may be a good man, but he has no honor. It will be an awkward break… I can't wait to come back, and I haven't even left yet."

XXX

The Kappa Estate lies just to the west of Gariland. The manor itself was built largely using the stones and boulders that lie strewn all about the Mandalia Plains, which stretch from Gariland all the way to Igros.

"Father, please! You're being ridiculous!"

For his entire mid-term break Mickey had tried to convince his father Daniel Kappa to allow him to join Clemence's St. Konoe Knights.

"You aren't even listening!" Mickey continued. "I won't even have to miss graduation."

The elder Kappa replied, "It's not your graduation that I'm worried about. Don't you understand why Prince Clemence is recruiting?"

Mickey answered, "Because he needs more men. It's not all too uncommon for a new monarch to bring in his own men, is it?"

"Perhaps," Daniel added. "But not on such a large scale as this. Only a massive mobilization of force would provide cause for recruiting this heavily in such a short period of time."

"And what exactly is wrong with that?" Mickey asked. "I can't very well get battle experience in the library, can I?"

"Yes, and you can't very well carry on the noble Kappa name from your grave, either," Lord Kappa replied, his temper rising.

Mickey answered him saying, "What is so important about our 'great' name anyway? So now should I pass on this opportunity to prove the worth of my name just because some far distant relative of mine was a king?"

Daniel answered his son heatedly saying, "You'll die for a fool in a fickle war if you join Clemence's ranks! I would have you be father of kings, and yet you would swear fealty to an illegitimately chosen king."

Mickey had heard all he cared to hear. As he reached the door to his father's estate, he turned and said, "Father, your claim to the throne has long since expired, and as for death… the brave do not fear the grave."

Now that he found himself in solitude, Daniel Kappa mused, "My claim is more than our 'prince' Clemence's ever has been- prince through marriage, king through murder. My ancestors may have been passed up for the throne, but I won't be."

XXX

The McEnroe estate, which is located near the heart of Zeltennia, was covered with a thick layer of snow. Little activity could be seen in the dreary, cold courtyard. It was quite the opposite inside the grand mansion.

Servants of all sorts could be seen scurrying about making preparations for the homecoming of their young master. Occasionally a servant or two would dart in or out of the mansion on an errand- breaking the tranquility of the winter morning, but most of the activity was found within.

Lord McEnroe would often make a big fuss for his son in an attempt to win his respect, but he usually failed at this. McEnroe had high hopes this time though, as he was going to hold a grand feast in celebration of his son's pending knighting.

The elder McEnroe paced along the halls of his estate giving orders here and there to any of his servants within an earshot. Servants scurried about busying themselves with anything they could get their hands on in order to stay their master's fury. Timothy McEnroe was not generally a bad master, though on occasions such as this, his servants have gotten accustomed to their master's sudden changes of mood.

Two figures astride chocobos in the once untouched courtyard of the McEnroe estate drew ever nearer to the grand oak door on this still winter day; unaware of the commotion within. The two dismounted their great birds and approached the sturdy door.

_KNOCK! KNOCK!_

Lord McEnroe turned abruptly to the noise resounding from his entrance hall. At once he hurried servants on their way as he too rushed to the sound. McEnroe stood in front of the door awaiting his guests as a servant opened it with some difficulty.

In stepped Pappal and Vincent as McEnroe exclaimed, "Pappal! It's great to see you! Oh, and Vincent Tildéa I presume?"

Pappal answered, "Yes, father. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh certainly not," came McEnroe's reply. "So, Vincent, will you be staying all winter break?"

"Yes," Vincent added, "If that is quite alright with you. It is a pleasure to meet you." At this Pappal rolled his eyes.

McEnroe replied, "The pleasure is all mine, though we have met once. A long time ago, however; you were still quite young. And of course, you may stay as long as you like, but I must ask: will your parents be much upset at your staying here?"

Vincent answered, "Oh, no… they probably don't know I'm gone."

Lord McEnroe pondered what to say next. He and Vincent's father had been friends long ago, so he decided to avoid the subject entirely. At length McEnroe said, "Yes well, we are pleased to have you join us." With that McEnroe ushered the two into an adjoining room as two servants saw to their mounts.

Pappal followed behind as Vincent and his father engaged in a lively conversation. He simply could not understand how Vincent could find his father to be so engaging. All he ever did was work in governmental issues of state… how interesting could that be? Though… father did know Vincent's father when he was younger… maybe that has something to do with it.

Shortly Pappal was pulled from his meditations as the party of three reached the next room, which was furnished with several chairs and a table of fine quality. The walls were lined with bookcases full of knowledge long forgot.

As they entered the study Vincent stated appreciatively, "It's certainly kind of you to allow me to intrude like this."

"Think nothing of it," McEnroe replied. "Your father and I were very close, you know. It's the least I can do to have you over for a while. Now… while we wait for our guests to arrive, I thought perhaps we would talk about your training."

Pappal asked, "What would you like to know? What it's like to serve your country, I presume?"

Vincent shot a look of distaste to his friend as Lord McEnroe replied, "I just don't know how to handle you any more… What does it matter to you what I did in my past?"

"You dishonored our name by not carrying out your duty," Pappal answered. "And that carries to me, father! I have to live with your legacy."

McEnroe replied, "You know little of my past…"

Pappal rose from his seat and as he left the room said, "I know enough, father."

Vincent said, "I'll speak to him," as he went after his friend.

McEnroe stopped him as he was leaving to say, "Whatever you do, don't tell him." To this Vincent turned, his features grave as he nodded slightly.

Pappal sped quickly through the halls of McEnroe manor with no intended direction other than away. Shortly after leaving Vincent called after him saying, "Pappal! Wait a second!"

Vincent jogged up to his friend, panting slightly as he added, "What is your problem!?"

"My father is my problem!" Pappal answered heatedly. And then cooling slightly, "He has always been my problem."

Vincent remarked, "Yeah, well, you won't even hear him out. He was probably going to tell you something important."

Pappal replied, "Oh, yeah… he was going to tell me about the grand exploits of his governance of Zeltennia…"

Vincent stated in a grave tone, "Your father is not the man you think he is…"

Recognizing the seriousness in his friend's tone, Pappal asked, "What do you mean…? What do you know?"

XXX

What are you saying?! This is madness!!

Listen, McEnroe… I can use your help, but I'm willing to work without it. Now… you have the respect of your knights, and that is something I can use. Riots are easy enough to incite without the aid of your Ryomoku Knights, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have them here. After all, Grims will have his Black Sheep put the riots down. We both know that if your knights don't aid the rioters, they'll be slaughtered… and I can't guarantee your safety… or that of your son, either. What will it be, McEnroe?

"McEnroe… Lord McEnroe!"

McEnroe stirred from his thoughts and jumped as he exclaimed, "What! …Oh, what is it?"

A nearby servant replied, "Apologies, milord. But several guests have now arrived, sir."

"Ah, very good," McEnroe answered. "Send for my son and the young master Tildéa, and have the other guests seated at the dining hall as well."

The servant replied, "As you command," and was quickly out of sight.

McEnroe rose slowly and headed off to the dining hall for the feast that was soon to begin. On his way down the corridor that lead to his dining hall, McEnroe slowed to adjust his attire. He was, after all, about to enter a room full of the most influential people in Zeltennia.

Now fully prepared, McEnroe entered to see many of his business associates and political affiliates sitting all around his dining table. He greeted many of these as he made his way to his seat at the head of the table. To his right was his son Pappal, and next to Pappal sat Vincent.

The dinner commenced, and after a short while McEnroe raised his glass and said, "I would like to propose a toast to my son Pappal and his good friend Vincent Tildéa, who are both just one week away from being knighted at Lesalia." All the guests rose their glasses in turn and drank to the young men, and some nearby even reached to shake hands with them.

At the conclusion of the dinner, many of the guests made the rounds to shake hands with the future knights and their host, and each in turn made their way to the exit of the hall to enjoy the post dinner entertainment that had been prepared for the homecoming feast.

Once all the guests had congratulated the two, Pappal made his way to his Lord McEnroe and said, "Father… we need to talk."

XXX

The blood drained from Lord McEnroe's face. After a short while he asked his son, "What did Vincent tell you?"

Pappal answered, "Enough to know that your past has been hidden from me, and yet… enough to make me curious… especially as to why you thought it prudent to keep it from me."

McEnroe stated, "I had hoped that this moment would never come… but I suppose I knew I would have to tell you eventually."

Pappal asked, "And what is it you have to tell me?"

McEnroe started, "First, you must realize that I hid my past for your sake as well as for my own embarrassment."

Pappal interrupted, "And yet Vincent knew and I did not!?"

McEnroe raised his hand to quell his son's anger as he said, "Vincent knew only that I served with his father… I am sure he knows little more than that."

"When did you ever serve?" Pappal asked.

McEnroe answered his son saying, "…I was the leader of the Ryomoku Knights during the Fifty Years War. Antoine Tildéa was also in the knights… an officer under me. After the war, my knights were disbanded… without payment. Many of them were angered, and some joined rebel groups… though they weren't as numerous as the Death Corps in Gallione. In short time the revolts were put down… largely due to negotiations I held with my former men. This is how I came to work in the administration of Zeltennia Castle. Lord Goltana saw I had a knack for negotiations and similar administrative duties. For one whole year Zeltennia was largely at peace. You were still very young at the time."

He took a deep breath, and used this break to gather his thoughts as his son Pappal stood deathly silent. Then he began again:

"As you well know, that peace was not to last. Ivalice was at the brink of all-out war with the fate of the throne fueling its fires. At the stirring preceding the war, I was approached by a young soldier of the church… an ambitious Temple Knight by the name of Delita Hyral. He made it known to me that if I did not follow his instruction to the letter… he would kill you."

Pappal looked at his father in abject shock. After a pause Pappal asked, "What is it that he required of you?"

McEnroe hung his head slightly as he replied, "He wanted me to incite an organized and well thought out riot amongst my Ryomoku Knights. His objective was to eliminate Baron Grims' Black Sheep Knights."

After a short while, McEnroe overcame his embarrassment and continued: "I had advised Goltana to increase taxes in order to prepare for the inevitable war ahead, which caused the people of Zeltennia to be greatly angered… especially after the draught of the previous year. When riots were beginning to spread throughout Zeltennia, my men began fueling the distrust and hatred. Soon the riots were out of control… and on Delita's specified date, I suggested to Goltana that he should send his Black Sheep to suppress the riots. Expecting only peasants with little resistance, Grims' knights were ill prepared to face well trained and well equipped knights. We ambushed the Black Sheep Knights… and slaughtered them all."

The dinning hall was dead silent. After a long break, McEnroe added, "And after that day I vowed never to raise a blade again."

Pappal thought for a long time about all that had been explained to him. He didn't know what to think… or even what to say, though Pappal was beginning to understand why his father never told him. Two things determine whether actions taken are right or wrong: conscience and outcome. The winning side is always right. Delita became king in the end, but Lord McEnroe could never forget the travesties that occurred long ago. Pappal knew that his father was just too embarrassed to tell him.

After a little time was spent processing all this new information, Pappal said, "You could have told me, father… but I understand why you didn't. I feel so ashamed now… not for your actions, but for my own. I acted so ungrateful to you… I am sorry."

McEnroe smiled a little; glad to be close to his son despite the circumstances. He said, "It is alright, son. Now, what's a party without its host? Lets join the party before suspicions are aroused." And with that said, the two left the still of the vacant dining hall to join the guests who were busy celebrating in the adjacent room.


	4. Chapter 3: One Stone

Rise of the Valiant  
Chapter Three: One Stone  
JDickensIV

The day was just beginning in the machine city of Goug.

Goug is known as a machine city for its abundance of knowledge from the past, which is buried beneath the city. 'Mechanics' work to restore this knowledge that has been lost from the ancient days of 'airships' and the like.

Light began to filter through the bedroom window of one such mechanic on a crisp, early winter day. Realizing that it was morning, the man sprang out of bed, excited to start the day.

The mechanic dressed as fast as he could. He put on a yellow shirt and a pair of slightly worn overalls, which is a trademark of mechanics. With his clothing on, he pulled his blonde hair back into a ponytail, and made his way into the kitchen.

The alluring scent of bacon and eggs could be smelt rising out of the kitchen. A mechanic, much older than the first, was standing in front of a stove preparing breakfast.

When he saw the younger mechanic enter, he said, "I'm glad you're up early Mustadio. We still have a lot to do, yet."

"Yes, I know father." Mustadio responded. "You know how much I love incorporating old technology with new. I just hope we'll be able to finish today."

At this time, a metallic colossus entered the kitchen and announced to the older mechanic, "MISSION COMPLETE-WOOD CHOPPED AND STACKED-YOUR ORDER PLEASE MASTER BESRODIO"

The older mechanic, Besrodio, then said, "That will be all Worker 8. You may wait until otherwise commanded."

"VERY WELL SIR" the giant machine stated. After that, it just stood still… motionless and ever vigilant.

Mustadio then took a seat at the table and said, "I sure am glad Ramza allowed us to continue studying Worker 8. He is so intriguing."

"Not to mention the fact that he has taken over every chore that you used to do," Besrodio chimed in.

"Yes… that is true, but he wouldn't be able to do those chores if I hadn't first programmed him to obey us," Mustadio countered.

"I suppose that is true," the older mechanic conceded as he set breakfast down on the table.

XXX

Looking up, there was nothing but darkness. Ramza walked along a path, with a faint light glimmering in the distance. Along either side of the path grew decaying trees amongst jagged rocks. There were six trees in all, each growing into the next, each struggling for space.

The trees began to grow greater and greater until they swallowed up the path and the light beyond. Ramza turned to run, but as he did, the trees extended their branches and ensnared him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ramza again perceived the faint light through the entangled trees. In the distance, Ramza heard a voice call out: _Ramza, you're not alone! You have friends! Allies who'd risk their lives! I'm one of them!_ Just as this voice cried out, the trees cleared and Ramza was freed.

Ramza ran towards the light, which was ever growing the closer he came to it. As he neared the light, Ramza turned to see what had become of the trees.

To his horror Ramza saw, amidst the piles of dead trees, Olan fastened to a stake, with embers rising: being fueled by the dead trees that lay in waste.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!"

The room was still dark. Sweat poured from Ramza's face as he grasped for reality.

Ramza has had this dream every night since Prince Clemence scheduled Olan's execution, and he now found himself sitting in his room in the Dragon's Den Inn on the very day.

Unable to sleep, he pulled himself to the side of his bed and stared at the floor, searching for some answers. At length he rose from his bed and put on his trousers and his black costume.

A knock came at Ramza's door. He answered the door, and let his sister in.

"Are you all right?" Alma asked. "I heard you screaming."

"…Yeah… I'll be Ok." Ramza replied.

"The dream again?" Alma inquired.

"I just can't get it out of my head… Those images…" Ramza trailed off.

"You know, you don't have to go," Alma said.

"Of course I do," Ramza replied without hesitation. "I have to go, because if I don't, this dream will plague me the rest of my life. I have to try to save him if I can. If I don't even go I can never live with myself."

"I see. Well, if you are going, so am I," Alma stated.

"Are you insane? Absolutely not. This is an execution, not a tea party," Ramza told Alma insistently. "Do you not understand? I'm not even sure that I will return. If you came along with me, you would be an added liability."

Seeing the seriousness in her brother's eyes, Alma conceded in saying, "I would not want to hinder you… I will stay here."

"Good. I'm going to get ready now. I will see you when I return." As Ramza said this, he was not entirely certain that he would.

As Alma left the room, Ramza began to prepare for that afternoon. This time, his equipment was slightly more battle ready. With his plated leather trousers and black costume already on, he then fastened his Germinas boots. Over his black costume he wore a reflect mail. About his waist he wore his belt onto which he fastened his Defender. In a secondary sheathe, Ramza placed his rune blade for backup. With all this done, he put on his pair of leather gauntlets. Upon his head he wore a thief's hat, and over all his body he wore his black cloak and hood to conceal all his armaments. Ramza was now ready for battle.

XXX

_Ponderings of the Valiant_

In my dreams, a specter haunts me;  
Chases me throughout my mind.  
From this ghost I cannot be free  
'Til the answers: truth I find.

What is the truth that I search for,  
This truth that evades the most?  
Until the last I searched the more,  
'Til truth, it seems, became my ghost.

XXX

Clemence was technically 'King Clemence,' but no sooner had he been announced king to the people than his wife was announced to be dead. Most people would be greatly angered if their queen was murdered, and indeed some were, but in this case, it was generally thought to be in the best interest of the people that the queen was now dead. The only ultimate result from this was the people referring to their king as 'The Prince King.' It is for this reason that he is referred to as Prince Clemence.

"General! Where is general Pranis?!"

Prince Clemence's voice could be heard thundering throughout the whole of the imperial palace of Lesalia. Ever since he scheduled Olan Durai's execution, they say the prince has been more than a little bit paranoid.

Clemence was about to begin another rant when at that moment the double doors of the gigantic conference room burst open.

"You called for me, my lord?" a young man asked the prince. The man had shoulder length brunette hair, which at the time fell unrestrained. He also had a clean trimmed goatee.

One might wonder how someone as young as Thomas Pranis might become a general, because in truth he was only twenty-four. Thomas had served under King Delita, as an officer under Olan Durai. He had excelled at strategic command, rivaled only by Olan himself. He was also quite talented with a sword. At his young age, he had already acquired the rank of Holy Knight. With the arrest of Olan came an opening for a new general, and he was the best man for the job.

"It is about time, Thomas. How are the preparations coming?" the prince asked.

"All of the preparations are in order, though I hardly think they're necessary. Executions are not uncommon… we could easily handle it with the normal guards…" General Pranis began.

Clemence cut him off in the middle of his counsel, "This is no ordinary execution! For one thing, heretics are not in the least common, and this one in particular has… shall we say, influential friends. According to the heretic himself, Ramza Beoulve is still alive and at large. Ramza Beoulve has a reputation for fighting against nobility and the law. He will not desert his ally."

At this point, Thomas was beginning to fear for his master's sanity. He then suggested, "Sir, correct me if I'm wrong, but… isn't Ramza dead? Nobody has even caught a glimpse of him for five years."

"Olan Durai has!" Clemence was beginning to get angry. "I am not required to explain myself to you!"

"My apologies," Thomas replied in an attempt to soothe his master's rising temper.

Beginning to cool, Clemence asked, "So the preparations are still in order? Exactly how many men have you stationed for the execution?"

Glad to have the subject somewhat changed, General Pranis promptly responded, "We have ten holy knights who will be strategically positioned on the rooftops surrounding the town square. Also, we have the usual count of five soldiers in plain sight, just as in any other execution."

Clemence broke in asking, "Is that all you've got!?"

"Not quite," Thomas replied. "We have an additional ten units who will infiltrate the crowds. These units are trained to kill with stealth. If anything is out of the ordinary, they will see it before it happens."

"Ah, excellent," Clemence responded, his worries being a slight bit more eased. "Now I might be able to rest knowing that this heretic will be brought to justice, and if all goes well, we just might bring in the Beoulve as well."

General Pranis then bowed, and exited the chamber. One in solitude, Clemence thought to himself, _If all goes well, by weeks end I'll have the trust of the people and the power of the church._

XXX

"Man… we've only been riding for a few hours and my backside's already killing me…"

Lesalia city lay in view ahead at the bottom of a gently rolling plain leading up to Grog Hill. Vincent Tildéa and Pappal McEnroe had camped out at Grog Hill, and were now just hours away from their knighting.

Pappal answered his friend saying, "The few days ride from Zeltennia to Lesalia can be taxing to be sure, but our destination is at hand."

A few minutes ride found the two friends passing through the gatehouse at the northern entrance of Lesalia. They rode through the gate in high spirits into the residential district of Lesalia.

Pappal noticed that several of the local citizens were excitedly heading down the same lane to the south as he suggested, "Hey, Vincent… We have a few hours until our knighting. We could find shelter for our chocobos and then find out what's going on, if you'd want to."

Vincent replied, "Yeah, alright. Sounds like a plan. We are a little early, aren't we?"

So the two dismounted and lead their mounts to a nearby stable. Once their chocobos were in safe hands, they headed off towards the commotion to the south. A short while later, they found the reason for the commotion as they found themselves at a gathering of the locals in a town square.

Vincent said, "Hmmm… must be an execution, judging by the guards over there. And judging by the guards on the roofs… things could get interesting. He must have been some kind of criminal. This should prove entertaining, crude though it may be."

With this said, the two waited in silence for the execution to commence.

XXX

"Here is the rent for the next week in advance," Ramza said. "See to it that my sister is well taken care of."

"Of course, sir," then the innkeeper asked, "But won't you be returning?"

As Ramza reached the door, he turned and stated, "I'm not entirely sure."

Ramza stepped out from the Dragon's Den into the streets of Lesalia. Ramza woke early, due to his nightmare, so the day was still early. The execution was scheduled to begin at noon, so Ramza had some time to kill. Ramza decided to head towards the bakery for some breakfast.

"Oh, hello again Ramza," Saira said. "It's nice to see you again. Here for some breakfast, are you?"

"Yours is the best," Ramza replied.

"Have you heard about the execution today?" Saira asked. "They say Prince Clemence has practically gone mad with the number of guards that are expected to be there."

"Actually, I was planning on attending. What is this you say about the guards?" Ramza asked.

Saira told him, "You haven't heard? They say the entire St. Konoe Knights are expected to show up."

This news was disturbing to Ramza. Agrias was a St. Konoe knight, which meant there would be several holy knights stationed at the execution. He doubted all of the knights would be there, but the news was still bad. Of all his many enemies, Ramza had never fought a group of holy knights. He knew he would need more help, but the soldier's offices provide soldiers who are left greatly wanting for training. Training took time; something of which Ramza had very little. He did not want to lead a young soldier to their death, so he decided to go it alone.

When he had finished with his thoughts and his bread, he asked Saira, "Were you planning to attend the execution?"

Saira shook her head, "No, I'll be working here most of the day. If business is slow, I had thought about closing up for an hour… but I'm not sure…"

Ramza stopped her there, "I'd stay open, if I were you." He stood as he added, "As always, thanks for your bread and your news. I must be going now." He then paid her and was on his way.

As Ramza walked down the road in the direction of the town square, he could not stop thinking about what he had heard. A regiment of St. Konoe Knights posted for one execution? It couldn't be.

XXX

The town square rested in the very center of Lesalia at the merger of the business district and the residential district. Four main roads intersect: two running northeast to southwest and two running northwest to southeast. The space between the intersecting roads formed the town square. Clusters of buildings to all four sides worked to further box in the open space in between, which was used as a public gathering point for open-air markets as well as the site of public executions.

One such execution would be held today for the heretic Olan Durai. The square was already beginning to get crowded. Executions were a public spectacle, often the only entertainment to be found in Lesalia.

Ramza found himself once again wading through a crowd in Lesalia for a friend. As he made his way toward the platform constructed for the execution, Ramza happened to glance upward, and he was glad he did. He had counted at least ten knights on the rooftops, and their armor resembled the armor Agrias owned… a bad sign.

Ramza continued to make his way through the crowd. As he was looking for space to move closer to the platform, Ramza noticed something peculiar. He saw the hilt of a platinum sword sticking out of the robes of a commoner. When he saw this, Ramza looked around, trying to see how many more 'commoners' owned expensive blades. He counted seven in all, but he knew there were likely more.

As Ramza finished searching the crown, Cardinal Prateus marched through the crowds, pulling behind him a prisoner who was bound and gagged. Cardinal Prateus climbed the short stairs up the platform, dragging Olan behind him all the while. Five guards surrounded Olan, lending encouragement with the their boots if he should stumble.

In a loud voice, Cardinal Prateus announced, "Citizens of Lesalia, I present to you your criminal, Olan Durai who has been tried and found guilty for the crime of heresy." Then to Olan he said, "Confess, and your life may be saved. What say you?"

One of the five guards flanking Olan reached out and removed the gag from Olan's mouth. Olan then replied, "I will never take back what I have said. I have already chosen: I can't go back now."

Ramza felt a great amount of sorrow swell inside him at the sound of Olan's words, though; he knew that Olan would not back down. It was not his nature. All the same, Ramza now knew he had to do something.

"Very well," Prateus continued. "Begin the preparations!"

The five guards tied Olan to a stake and began piling wood about him. Ramza knew he had to act before it was too late. As he made his way through the crowd, he noticed a familiar sword at the side of a spectator.

As this 'stranger' moved his hand toward the hilt of the great Excalibur, Ramza put his hand on the man's shoulder and said, "There are ten on the rooftops, and nearly as many in the crowds."

The man turned and exclaimed in a hushed voice, "Ramza! What are you doing here?"

"The same as you, it would seem Orlandu," Ramza replied.

Orlandu then said, "Yes, I noticed the men on the roof. And to make it worse, every single one is a holy knight. How do you propose we go about this?"

Ramza replied, "Never, even at my best, have I ever been able to defeat so many, but we have to try. We need to dispatch as many as we can before they get a chance to respond. With your range, you need to take out the knights on the roofs, and I will work on the crowds. As soon as you attack, you'll have disguised units going for you, thus throwing their disguise. As soon as they do, I'll pick them off."

"Good plan. We need to move quickly, though," Just as Orlandu said this, the torch was lit, leaving little time to act. Orlandu turned to see this, and he said, "We must act now! I hope to see you when this is done, but if not… goodbye, Ramza!"

"Goodbye old friend." As Ramza said this, Orlandu reached into his brown cloak and pulled out an air knife. He then took aim and threw it directly into the neck of the torchbearer. The knight fell dead, dropping the torch, which went out as it hit the ground.

The crowd began to disperse as quickly as they could run. One member of the crowd seemed less intent on running, though. He quickly pulled out a platinum blade, and made for Orlandu. With Orlandu's back turned, the hidden knight made a fatal stroke, which was blocked by Ramza's blade. The hidden guard was startled by this unknown blocker, which gave Ramza just enough time to run the knight through his chest.

Orlandu then made for the nearest building to take out some rooftop knights. Orlandu dispatched a crowd unit with one quick down stroke, and then continued towards the wall. One of the holy knights atop the near building moved to the edge and exclaimed, "Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Stab!" Recognizing the incantation, Orlandu dove forward, just missing a great sword-shaped bolt of lightning to his rear.

Orlandu jumped up and cried out, "Demolish weapons with fury! Hellcry Punch!" As Orlandu said this a transparent, jagged blade rose from under the holy knight, who fell dead alongside his broken sword.

By this time the crowds had cleared, and the initial five, now four, guards had relit the torch. They then tossed it into the pile at Olan's feet.

Ramza was dismayed at this, but he found himself without the ability to do anything about it, as he was being pressed by four of the crowd units.

With his rune blade in his left hand and his Defender in his right, Ramza readied himself for the coming onslaught. The apparent leader of the four crowd units who was in the center left of the group swung high, his blade catching on the rune blade. Ramza then quickly jabbed with his Defender, but the leader was too swift; jumping back just ahead of Ramza's blade. The other three joined in, each swinging wildly, each met with a Defender or a rune blade. This went on for some time, until Ramza blocked the blade of the center right assailant high with his defender, parried with his rune blade to the right the blade of his far right assailant, and then came down swift and hard with the Defender straight across the chest of the far right assailant: all this in a matter of seconds. With three attackers remaining, the fight continued.

All the while, Pappal and Vincent stood stunned with their hands on their hilts. In a short time, Vincent had gathered which two of the combatants were the aggressors. Vincent drew his mythril blade and made for the brown-cloaked one who had the least amount of adversaries.

Pappal called out to him, "Vincent, NO! Let the knights handle this!"

Vincent shook his head slightly as he made for his mark.

One of the crowd units not currently in battle made his way towards Orlandu, but in crossing towards Orlandu, he pulled out a magic shuriken; his sights on Ramza. With Ramza's back turned and his aim set, the crowd unit let the shuriken fly, sure that it would make its mark. Ramza parried right with his rune blade, and as he did he heard the shuriken part the air. He continued to turn with his momentum from the parry, pivoting on his right foot. At that moment, the leader of the assailants brought his sword down, striking the ground where Ramza's left foot had been. In pivoting around, Ramza made eye contact with the shuriken, and with no spare time, Ramza brought his Defender up and deflected the shuriken into the chest of the far left assailant, who in turn fell down dead in mid swing.

Orlandu exclaimed, "Demolish weapons with fury!" a second time, and a second holy knight fell dead beside his shattered blade. Orlandu heard a man coming up quick to his rear, and turned to find a young man with a mythril blade raised above his head, and the end of a rune blade sticking out of his stomach.

Pappal screamed, "Vincent! No!!" as he rushed to his fallen friend. When he reached his friend, Vincent's lips were moving, but no sound could attest to this. His lungs had already filled with blood, and he could not form the words. Pappal removed the rune blade carefully from Vincent's back. Gazing, horror struck at the sight of his dying friend, Pappal felt helpless; as if all control had fled his grasp. He hastily applied a potion to his friends wound, but to no avail. The blood slowed from the wound, but would not stop completely.

Orlandu looked past the fallen man and his friend to the source of the rune blade, some twenty feet away. Ramza had thrown his secondary blade, and was now holding his own. With three knights bearing down on him, he felt inclined to leave Ramza to his fight and himself to his own.

The three knights in front of him kept him too busy for him to invoke his swordsman skill, but Orlandu met every swing with his Excalibur. The knight on Orlandu's right swung low, but his blade was stopped by Excalibur and slid to the ground. Orlandu then quickly parried a thrust by the knight to his left, and rotated his forearm and wrist so as to block a downward swing from the center knight. He then rotated his arm from his shoulder, extended his arm, and split the knight to his right's chest open in a dreadfully swift strike. His body turned slightly in doing this, leaving him open to a downward slash from the knight on the left, though; had he not turned, the sword would have cloven him in two. But as it was, the stroke only claimed a large portion of flesh from just below his left shoulder where his armor didn't offer full protection.

Olan looked down at the flames creeping towards his feet. Realizing he had little time left, he looked out to see how Orlandu and Ramza were doing, and he was dismayed at what he saw. Orlandu had already sustained a wound, and with the four usual guards making their way towards Ramza, it would not be long until he too received a wound… or worse. To make matters worse, the holy knights were beginning to swarm on the rooftop above Orlandu.

By this time, the flames were dancing with the tip of Olan's cloak. Olan knew he could not be saved. He yelled out to Ramza and Orlandu, "You must run now, or else you will die in vain! The truth must be made known, but to die for the truth solves nothing! I am going to die regardless of your actions today, but you must live on! Flee now!"

When Ramza heard these words, they chilled him to his very soul. He did not want to accept his words, but he knew Olan spoke true. Ramza could never leave a friend for dead, but the situation was hopeless. The only thing Ramza could do now is to live to clear Olan's name, and to save Orlandu from his likely death.

Ramza looked over to Orlandu, and seeing that he was injured, decided he would make his way towards him. But first, he had to handle his own mess. Ramza swung his Defender, which was blocked by the two together, but the force knocked back the two nearest assailants hard enough to give him a little time. He then extended his left hand and shouted, "Brush off vanity, and show reality! Ultima!" and a flash of green flame shot from his hand, exploding and blowing back the two straight into the four fast approaching guards.

Not taking this chance for granted, Ramza bolted to Orlandu's aid. Orlandu was busy parrying furiously with his one good arm, until one of his adversaries fell to the ground, blood gushing from his skull. Orlandu and the remaining knight both looked to the source of his injury. After a short lull in the battle, Ramza let his Defender fly through the chest of Orlandu's last opponent.

Ramza casually stated, "Hello, Cid. It's good to see you alive," as he reached down and retrieved his rune blade.

Orlandu responded, "Ramza! It's good to see you alive, indeed! We must make it to Olan."

"It's no use. We must fly now," Ramza told Orlandu.

"No! I'm not going to leave him now!" Orlandu exclaimed.

"We must! You heard Olan yourself! We can't do anything now, but we might still be able to avenge him!" Ramza replied.

Just then, a holy knight above shouted, "Armor won't help the heart stay sharp! Shellbust Stab!" A great curved sword rose from the ground below Orlandu and cleaved his armor in two. Orlandu's armor fell to the ground, and Orlandu was bleeding severely. Ramza lifted Orlandu over his shoulders and sprinted to the exit to the west.

As the two men fled the square, Pappal looked to his friend. He pulled Vincent close as he whispered, "Vincent… don't leave me…"

Vincent choked on his own blood as he struggled to utter, "…it's only… a… scratch… Pappal…" Vincent smiled a little and then grew still as life fled him.

Tears welled in Pappal's eyes as he pulled his lifeless friend in a last, close embrace.

When out of the town square, Ramza turned up and down various alleyways, slowly losing the knights and ninjas that trailed them both. When he was sure he was safe from trailing eyes, Ramza turned into a final alley and bolted through the lone door in the alley.

Ramza and Orlandu now found themselves in the Knight's Haven pub. It was still well before nightfall, and the bar not close to being opened for business, but Jake the barkeep was busy setting up chairs around the many tables positioned around the pub. Jake turned suddenly to the noise of his back door slamming shut.

"What is it… Who's back there!?" Jake questioned in a quavering tone.

A reply came from the back, "It's me… Ramza. Get me some potions: quick!"

Ramza set Orlandu down, and Jake could see that he was bleeding from a large gash in his chest and from his left shoulder. Jake ran behind the bar and rummaged around through some bottles.

He then selected one and tossed it to Ramza saying, "Here, this will help… though it may not be enough."

Ramza quickly administered the potion, and said, "It will be enough to save him."

As the potion took effect, the wound on Orlandu's shoulder closed and began to heal, but the large wound from the holy knight's attack did not fully close. The bleeding had stopped though, which was very fortunate. Usually a hi-potion does not have such a good effect.

After a little time passed, Ramza asked Jake, "Do you have a chocobo or two that I might buy?"

Jake replied, "I have one, but you need not pay me for its use."

Ramza then asked, "Where is it?"

Jake replied as he motioned to the front door, "Tied out front, as always."

Ramza then helped Orlandu up, and made for the door with Orlandu's arm around him. When he got to the bar, Ramza left a bag full of gil for Jake, saying, "If anyone asks, I stole your mount. This should help repay you for everything."

"I can't accept it," Jake protested.

Ramza replied, "Well then… I guess you'll have to leave it for your first customer, because I'm not taking it with me."

Jake finally took the bag of gil and thanked Ramza whole-heartedly.

Once outside, Ramza said to Orlandu, "We need to decide where to go from here. Clearly Lesalia will not be safe for us, and we must get you some medical aid."

"You're right," groaned Orlandu through the pain. "The nearest town is Goland. If I am not mistaken, Beowulf and Reis still have a home there."

Ramza agreed in saying, "Ok then. We'll go to Goland, but first: we need to pick up my sister. She won't be safe on her own."


	5. Chapter 4: The Ripples

Rise of the Valiant  
Chapter Four: The Ripples  
JDickensIV

"GENERAL!!" was all that could be heard in the imperial palace of Lesalia the hours following Olan Durai's execution.

"My lord?" General Thomas Pranis cautiously answered the raging prince.

"Explain yourself general! Did I not give you full warning and instruction?!" Prince Clemence asked. "You are lucky that Olan was successfully executed… otherwise…" the prince trailed off, not mentioning the horrors he had in store for his general.

General Pranis defended himself by saying, "My lord, you did, but their ability was greatly underestimated. Even you did not expect the great Thunder God Cid to be there. He and Ramza single-handedly killed ten of our men, including two holy knights! Ramza even managed to kill the young Vincent Tildéa from twenty feet… he _threw_ his blade at him and still had enough in him to handle his own. The young Tildéa may have been able to kill Cidolfas, had it not been for Ramza's skill."

"Yes, it was most unfortunate that Orlandu showed up. I thought that old codger would have holed up in a ditch and died of old age, by now. He and the Beoulve prove a deadly combination," Clemence responded, his temper cooling. "But until today, we had no conformation that they were even alive. Now we can begin our search for every single one of them! If Ramza _and_ Cidolfas are still alive, it is likely that all of the others mentioned in the Durai Papers are as well."

"What do you have in mind, my lord?" the general asked.

"I want every unit available to search out these heretics. I must find them immediately," Prince Clemence ordered his general.

General Pranis protested, "But sir… we don't have that kind of man power. The Hokuten and the Nanten have both disbanded, which leaves us with nothing but the St. Konoe Knights. There are a minimal number of knights in the Konoe Knights who aren't currently guarding Lesalia or stationed throughout Ivalice."

Prince Clemence responded, "I am aware of this, general. Send word to Senator Barteaux in Limberry and Senator Magrat of Gariland. Give them word that the recruitment will have to proceed ahead of schedule. We will enlist as many as possible, and begin training them hard."

General Pranis carefully phrased his next question, "Why, may I ask, are we going to such lengths to enlist soldiers? We are not at war."

"Not yet, at any rate," Prince Clemence suggested.

General Thomas had a strange look about him after Clemence made this last statement. He wondered what exactly his prince meant by this. Then, considering it no more, he asked Clemence, "What about Ramza and Orlandu? What shall we do about them?"

Clemence thought for a moment, and then said, "We can't leave them free. They must pay for their crimes. I want you to search every street, every alleyway. Every guard in the city and every reserve unit we have; I want them all searching. In order to train the new recruits, though, we need every spare unit as well, so it is imperative that we catch them in the city. We can't afford to stretch out our forces."

"I understand, sir. I will see it done," General Thomas replied. He then thought about inquiring as to the meaning of Clemence's suggestion, 'Not yet, at any rate,' but he thought better of it. Not wanting to push his luck, General Thomas Pranis took his leave of his lord in order to begin the preparations.

As General Pranis was leaving, Clemence told him, "General: tell Pappal McEnroe he may enter now."

The general bowed and left the room. A short while later, Pappal entered cautiously. The red of his eyes matched the red on his clothing from Vincent's dried blood.

Pappal kneeled before Prince Clemence. Clemence pulled from his scabbard a massive jewel encrusted long sword. As he approached Pappal, he said, "For years you have toiled and worked tirelessly to achieve this… your knighting." Clemence then tapped each of Pappal's shoulders with his great sword.

Pappal rose, and then ventured to ask, "My lord… might I ask something of you?"

With a puzzled look on his face, Clemence asked, "What is it, young sir?"

Pappal then asked, "Who were the assailants at the execution? Which was cloaked in black?"

Clemence said, "Ramza Beoulve was rumored to be cloaked all in black, and the great T. G. Cidolfas Orlandu was cloaked in brown. Why do you ask?"

Pappal replied, "Because… I need to know who to take my vengeance upon. I swear this day that Ramza Beoulve will fall by my blade."

XXX

Ramza poked his head around the corner of the alley, turning left then right. With the way clear, he swiftly led Orlandu atop a chocobo out into the streets. They swiftly made their way down the street the short distance towards the Dragon's Den Inn. When they were but a block away, Ramza stopped short of the inn. Outside there were five chocobos tied up. Something was not right.

Orlandu looked up from his pain induced stupor to ask, "Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Ramza replied as he led Orlandu and their chocobo behind a nearby building. "You must stay here. If anything happens, ride straight to Goland."

Orlandu nodded as Ramza stepped out into the street. Ramza swiftly strode down the road to where the chocobos were tied up. He carefully cracked open the door and peeked into the inn. Ramza noted that there were at least two guards milling about the front entrance.

Fearing that the other three had already made their way to Alma's room, Ramza summoned up his courage and his strength, and burst into the inn. The two guards turned to him, and as they did Ramza drew his Defender, and straight from the sheath plunged it into the chest of the nearest soldier. After the other's daze had fallen, the other drew his blade and lunged at Ramza. Ramza parried quick to the right and then brought his blade fast across the soldier's belly.

The innkeeper all the while had been yelping his surprise at these new developments. Ramza expected that the others would soon return, so he made for the back door and stood to the side of it. Once in place, he lifted his blade in the direction of the innkeeper and raised one finger to his lips.

Two more men ran through the back door of the lobby. As they did, Ramza ran his blade through the back of one to his left and then quickly withdrew it. The other turned and slashed downwards towards Ramza's chest. Ramza's Defender met his blade, and the knight was knocked back by the blocking force. Ramza then lunged, and pierced the fourth soldier through the chest.

Ramza paused to catch his breath, and then was off down the hall towards Alma's room. Meeting with no confrontation on the way, Ramza realized that the last must have entered her room already. Wasting no time, Ramza burst into the room, took a quick glance of his surroundings… and that was the last sight he saw.

Ramza woke five minutes later, with Orlandu and Alma both kneeling above him. "What happened? How long have I been unconscious?"

"It seems your sister has become your better," Orlandu said with a little more than a chuckle and a smile. He continued, "You've only been out a matter of minutes."

Ramza noticed that Alma had a staff in hand, and in seeing a knight lying beside him, Ramza pieced together what had happened.

After he took a moment to collect himself, Ramza stood and said, "We must run now. This group was small, but I'll bet the next won't be."

Alma questioned, "But where are we to go? Do you have something in mind?"

"Yes we do, in fact. We must make for Goland as soon as possible. There is a chance that Beowulf and Reis are there, and we cannot risk staying in town for medical aid. Reis always did have a knack for the medicinal arts." As Orlandu said this, he winced in pain from his chest and shoulder wounds.

When seeing this, Alma rushed to his side. She quickly administered a potion on Orlandu, who instantly stood up straighter, visibly feeling better already.

"Thank you, Alma," Orlandu gratefully told the young woman.

"Now you know why we are in such haste. Now, if you please…" Ramza said, motioning to the exit.

The three raced through the halls and out of the inn to the streets. Ramza helped Alma to mount the chocobo that they had purchased from Jake. Ramza and Orlandu each then mounted one of the chocobos left in front of the inn by their fallen adversaries. With each on a chocobo, they made for the southern gate of Lesalia, on their way to Goland Coal City.

XXX

Clemence sat upon his throne in the palace of Lesalia furious for his men's incompetence. _Five knights could not handle one girl?_ He looked thoughtfully to his right after receiving the news.

After some time, General Pranis inquired, "Sir, are you all right?"

Clemence turned his head towards General Pranis and at length asked, "How is it, general, that one girl can defeat five knights?"

Pranis replied, "Sir, it is likely that Ramza ambushed them. It is quite possible that Ramza could best five knights on his own, sir."

Clemence thought about this for a moment with no response. The prince was not his usual outwardly enraged self, because, though he was quite angered at the events as they unfolded; he knew this may yet play to his advantage.

After some time, he asked the general, "How do our forces stand now? How many can we spare to pursue them further?"

General Pranis responded, "Quite frankly sir, we can't spare any. With the exception of those forces needed to maintain order here in Lesalia, half of our forces have been sent to Igros and the other half to Zeltennia in order to recruit and train ex Hokuten and Nanten members, as per your orders."

At length, Prince Clemence said, "Well… it would seem we need more men now if we are to bring the heretics to justice. Very well, there is nothing more you can do general. You are dismissed."

General Pranis noted how pensive his master seemed now, but thinking it a turn for the better he didn't speak of this. With no further hesitation, General Pranis bowed and took his leave of the prince.

Now in solitude, Clemence thought to himself: _It is no matter. This heretic is no concern of mine, but rather a problem for the church to deal with. I will have to move the plans ahead of schedule. No matter… _He then summoned for a messenger.

When the messenger arrived, Clemence announced without hesitation, "Send word to Cardinal Prateus that I wish to speak with him immediately."

XXX

Robert Magrat was riding in a poor mood from Igros through Mandalia Plains towards Gariland. He had been to Igros to check up on the recruitment progress and was not entirely pleased with the results. As he was nearing Gariland, the rather large Kappa estate loomed ahead. He was suddenly struck with and idea. He altered his course slightly and turned toward the Kappa manor. Upon arriving at the mansion, Magrat tied his chocobo near the great oak door and knocked.

Presently, a servant arrived and opened the door. Magrat inquired, "Is your master here about?"

The servant replied, "Yes, and who may I ask seeks his counsel?"

Magrat said, "Lord Robert Magrat," and no sooner had he said this than the servant had ushered him in and was now off to fetch his master.

After a short time of waiting, Magrat heard someone call out, "Ah… Senator Magrat! What brings you here to my humble abode!"

Magrat thought: _Humble indeed_, but instead turned to the voice and said, "Daniel Kappa, you old scoundrel. As if I need a reason to seek such enjoyable company as yours! But in truth I do have a purpose for coming here."

Daniel Kappa replied, "Ah, so it is… but come… we'll discuss it in a more personable setting than this entrance hall."

Magrat followed Kappa through a few hallways into a well-furnished room. Kappa gestured for his guest to sit down as he asked, "Now… what is it that causes you to seek my company?"

Magrat sat and said, "Well… I am sure by now you have heard that the prince is recruiting men into his service, and that I am one of those chosen to head the operations."

Kappa nodded as he said, "Yes, I have heard this. How goes the recruiting?"

Magrat answered him with a sigh and said, "Not very well. The numbers from Igros were greatly lower than I anticipated, and Clemence needs his men sooner than expected. You see… the heretic Ramza Beoulve appeared in Lesalia and has yet to be arrested. Clemence needs all the men he can get his hands on to apprehend him."

Kappa stated, "Oh, I see."

Magrat probed further, saying, "Yes, well… the reason for my visit is to ask you: do you think you could aid me in my endeavors? You have connections in both the Royal Magic Academy as well as the Noble's Academy."

Kappa replied, "Well… I must be honest with you. At first I was against this, and in fact I had forbid my son from joining, though I don't think it would do any good. He seems bound and determined to see me to an early grave." Much to Magrat's relief, he added, "But I'm beginning to believe it would not be a bad idea to help you… I could be that much closer to my son for a while, at least. In fact… my estate is quite large. If need be, we could employ it to lodge and train men when the numbers exceed the capacity of our current installations."

Magrat smiled, rose from his seat, and shook Kappa's hand vigorously. He said, "Well… that is great to hear. I should be off to Gariland… I'm already late for an appointment. I will keep in touch with you."

After a few more parting words, Magrat exited the manor, mounted his chocobo, and headed east towards Gariland in much higher spirits.

XXX

A new sun rose over the mountains in the east, which cast their shadow now short of Goland Coal City. Three figures from the north rode slowly closer toward the town, just in time for the new day of commerce and mining that lay before them.

Upon reaching the north gate, Ramza asked Orlandu, "Do you know where they might live?"

Orlandu, who was greatly weakened by his wound and long ride, sluggishly replied with a smile and a glance at Ramza, "Maybe we should try the residential district."

Ramza responded in saying, "I see you haven't lost your sense of humor, though; that is about all we have to start with, sadly."

Alma chimed in, "Perhaps a local knows something. It's just a little early to go to the pubs, but there are plenty of shops opening up this morning."

Ramza said with a smile, "Yes, that is better than knocking on every door, I suppose. That looks like a good shop; let's check it out."

The three tied up their chocobos and headed into the store.

The shopkeeper proclaimed, "Good mornin' to you. Is there anything I can help you find?"

Ramza replied, "Yes, in a manner of speaking. More likely it is someone that you may help us find. Do you know of a man named Beowulf or a woman named Reis?"

The shopkeeper looked the three over, then said, "I can't say as I do. Is this Beowulf expecting you?"

"Not exactly," Ramza replied, "We were just in town and thought we'd give them a visit."

"Well… if you expect they're in town you might want to stay in the inn just up the road. It seems as though you are weary from your travels," the shopkeeper suggested.

"I think we'll do that. Thank you," and with that Ramza made his way out the door, followed by Alma and Orlandu.

Once outside, Ramza said, "I think we might as well stay and rest up at the inn. There seems to be nothing we can do right now. It is possible that someone there might know something."

Orlandu added, "Yes, that sounds better than walking the streets all day."

No sooner than the three had entered the inn, a blonde-haired man entered the shop that they had just left.

The shopkeeper greeted the man saying, "Beowulf! It's good to see you my friend. You know, just now some shady characters were in here asking about you and Reis. More startling than that is the fact that they asked for you by name."

"What did you tell them, Luke?" Beowulf asked.

"Nothing a t'all. I told them they could look for lodging at the inn down the road. Maybe you can give them a little visit tonight."

"How many in all were there?" Beowulf questioned.

The shopkeeper stroked his stubbly neck as he answered, "Only three. Two men, one of which seemed badly injured, and a young woman."

"I see. Thanks. I'll see you later," and with that Beowulf exited the shop.

XXX

"How are your wounds, Orlandu?" Alma asked.

Orlandu replied with a grimace, "Much better, thanks greatly to you. It is too bad we could not find Beowulf and Reis today. Reis always could heal great wounds with minimal supplies. At any rate, I'll live."

Ramza and Alma had searched Goland for a while after checking Orlandu into their room, but with no results and night coming soon, they had returned to the room on the second floor of the inn. There was only one room available, so it was decided that Alma would take a bed, Orlandu would take the other, and Ramza would sleep on the floor.

After some conversation about the events that had transpired, Ramza said, "Well, there isn't much we can do but rest up for now. I don't know about you two, but I'm going to try to get a good night's sleep tonight. Goodnight." He then took his place on the floor, next to the doorway.

Alma and Orlandu both in turn said goodnight, and each took their own bed. Orlandu laid his Excalibur next to his bed so as not to keep it out of reach. Ramza took his position on the floor, and then placed his Defender to his side.

Ramza woke some hours later to the sound of planks creaking just down the hall on the stairs. He quietly stood next to the door; his Defender in hand. Ramza noticed across the room that Orlandu had stirred slightly and grabbed for his Excalibur. This was a great relief to Ramza. By the sound of the footsteps, there was only one, but that did not change the fact that they were all unarmored save their blades.

The door creaked open, and a man advanced through the open door. Ramza grabbed him from behind and with his Defender securely placed in front of the man's neck he yelled out, "Orlandu! Light the lamp!"

Ramza's Defender clanged to the floor as he exclaimed, "Beowulf! It's you!"

Beowulf in turn sheathed his sword and exclaimed, "Orlandu! And Alma and Ramza too! The shopkeeper told me of three shady characters asking around about me and Reis, but I never expected you!"

After a long exchange of greetings, Beowulf said, "The shopkeeper also mentioned one of you was injured greatly. Is this true?"

Orlandu said, "Yes, the injury is mine. All will be explained, but perhaps after it is properly treated."

"Of course, of course," Beowulf stated. Upon seeing the extent of Orlandu's injury, Beowulf said, "That is some wound… we must hurry to Reis. She'll be able to mend it."

They all then gathered their belongings and made their way to Beowulf's home in Goland.

XXX

"You summoned me, Prince Clemence?" Cardinal Prateus asked, though he knew the answer.

Clemence greeted the cardinal in saying, "Ah, Cardinal Prateus. It is good to see you old friend."

Prateus responded, "And you as well. Now, was there a particular matter you had in mind? Your messenger suggested that it might be a matter of urgency." Prince Clemence then said, "Yes, there is a matter I would much like to discuss with you. It has to do with that heretic, Ramza Beoulve."

Cardinal Prateus then said, "Ah, yes. I hear he has given you a little trouble. The rumor is that he single-handedly killed a hundred men in an attempt to rescue Olan Durai."

Clemence replied, "It was more like eleven men, and it was not single-handedly. The great T.G. Cid aided him as well. Later that very day he killed five more of my knights. He has fled Lesalia by now."

"That is most unfortunate," the cardinal stated. "Or perhaps it is fortunate. We know for fact that he is alive. Had I told the church I was going to hunt down a dead man… I would have been laughed out of Ivalice."

Prince Clemence replied, "Yes, that is quite true. I was going to suggest to the cardinals that they aid me in the hunt, and I would then select a cardinal from among them to head the operation, but I doubt that they would go in for my schemes, put to them like that. Perhaps now is the time for us to act. When is your next council at Murond?"

The cardinal answered, "I'm about to leave for a conference in Murond where we will be electing the next high priest. Perhaps you could join me and present your idea there. I will back you if you do."

"Very good," Prince Clemence said.

XXX

Murond Holy Place lies on an island in the Black Coral Sea directly south of Gariland Magic City. The island on which Murond sets is not very large being only a mile wide at most. One might say that the entire island itself is Murond Holy Place, because in fact, the city encompasses the entire island. Great walls encircle the island with a north and south dock built into the fortification.

Murond is the center of all activity within the Glabados Church. Nothing was done in the name of the church without Murond's consent. Little commerce can be found in Murond. All there is in Murond is a great cathedral with ample lodging for the priests and oracles as well as the high priest. Also within the cathedral is a grand conference chamber where the cardinals, with Prince Clemence to observe, will elect the new high priest.

The conference chamber was a well lit room with plenty of seating for all the cardinals, attending priests, and spare seating for guests also. The chairs were arranged in four rows of a semi-circle, each row raised a step above the next. The high priest, who generally conducted the meetings, spoke from a stone podium in the middle of the circle.

With the high priest currently unselected, the highest-ranking cardinal, Cardinal John Minsteare of Lionel, began the proceedings. "Well, gentlemen, it is good to see you all made it in time. As you all know, it has been five years since the death of our High Priest Marge Funeral at the hands of the heretic Ramza Beoulve, and… though we were delayed in our actions by the former monarch, the time has now come for us to regroup and select once more one from among us to lead."

A young cardinal spoke at this saying, "You mentioned Ramza Beoulve. What has been done to capture this heretic? I've heard of late that this rabble rouser is still alive and reeking havoc."

"Yes, it is true," Cardinal Prateus replied. "I have come from Lesalia where our Prince Clemence has had much difficulty in catching this rebel. He has come to tell us about his progress in bringing this heretic to justice, and if you would hear him now, perhaps the election might be delayed a little."

The cardinals had no opposition to this idea, and all seemed eager to hear news of the heretic.

Cardinal Minsteare stepped down from the podium as Prince Clemence made his way to deliver his new of Ramza Beoulve.

"It is true, gentlemen," Clemence began, "Ramza Beoulve is still alive and well. Just last week he was seen along with Cidolfas Orlandu in an attempt to prevent the execution of known heretic Olan Durai. In this and subsequent attacks on my men, Ramza has murdered well over a dozen of my men who had been instructed to apprehend the heretic."

A murmur rose in the chamber. Clemence continued, "Olan Durai was convicted of heresy due to the 'Durai Papers,' which were written as an account of the heretic Ramza Beoulve's activities." As Clemence said this he handed each of the cardinals a copy of the papers.

After all the cardinals had finished reading the documents, Clemence continued saying, "With the appearance of Ramza and Cidolfas, I am led to believe that the numerous persons mentioned within the Durai Papers may very well be alive, living among us as we speak."

The murmur in the chamber grew to Clemence's satisfaction. Clemence perceived his time had come. He continued, "I have already made attempts to capture the heretics Orlandu and Ramza, at a great loss to my own soldiers. My power is already stretched thin as it is. The church has already witnessed the devastating power that Ramza and his crew posses, as this meeting may attest. It seems the past is repeating itself, but it does not need to. With your Shrine Knights combined with my St. Konoe Knights, we might be able to catch all the heretics in the Durai Papers in one grasp."

A younger cardinal spoke up, "Are you suggesting that we relinquish to you all of our power in order to catch a dozen heretics? Are you mad!?"

"I don't see any other options. The full fury of the Shrine Knights alone could not best him, and my knights will not be enough either," Clemence countered.

"This sounds all well and good," another cardinal added, "But how can we be assured that you will return to us control of the knights after the job is done and all the heretics are accounted for?"

"I never asked for full power of you knights, only assistance," Clemence replied. "If one of your own cardinals were to act as general of the Shrine Knights and would but consult with me, I certainly would not object. Being that he is already stationed in Lesalia, Cardinal Prateus would make an excellent choice, in my humble opinion."

"Very well," Cardinal Minsteare announced. "We will have a vote on this matter at once."

One by one the cardinals all agreed to lend the use of the Shrine Knights, under Cardinal Prateus' supervision, to Prince Clemence. With this business finished, Prince Clemence took his leave of the cardinals and left them to their vote.

XXX

Shrine Knights were busy running up and down each alleyway, looking for their fugitives. The city of Goug had not been the same since Prince Clemence gained control of the Shrine Knights at the election of High Priest Bevelle two weeks prior.

"I think they're gone," Mustadio said as he peaked around the corner in a back alley on the north side of Goug, mythril gun in hand. "Too bad we left in such a hurry… Worker 8 would be a great help right about now. I hope he's alright."

"Worker 8 can take care of himself, for sure," Besrodio commented. "He wouldn't have fit on the boat, anyway."

"You're right," Mustadio replied. "Well, we only have a few more blocks till we reach the north port, we'd better hurry."

Mustadio and Besrodio hurried out across the street and down another alley. They turned east down a smaller road, and then stopped just before an intersection ahead. Ahead was the lone road that led to the docks to the north. Mustadio and Besrodio both peered around the corner to the left.

Three knights about a hundred yards away guarded the dock and their boat that lay beyond. Mustadio gave a smirk and said, "No problem." He then took up his sights and let a bullet fly straight into the heart of one of the guards. The knight in turn fell dead, bleeding from his grievous chest wound.

The two remaining guards turned in alarm at their fallen companion, and then they turned to the source of the noise echoing through the streets. They drew their swords and charged towards Mustadio and Besrodio.

With a cool head, Mustadio quickly reloaded and fired another bullet into one of the remaining knights, who fell motionless. In every direction now, knights were beginning to make for the north dock, alarmed by the shots that rang out in Goug. Mustadio reloaded once more and put down his final adversary with twenty yards to spare.

Mustadio and Besrodio now ran for the dock, followed closely by the knights who had heard Mustadio's gunfire. "Do you think it works?" Mustadio asked while running. "We haven't really tested it yet."

"Well, I suppose we can test it now," Besrodio replied. With a glance backward Besrodio added, "It's not as though we have much of a choice now. It had better work… no wind tonight, no sailing."

The pair reached the dock and were already climbing into their small boat, whose unfurled sail remained limp and unmoving. Mustadio rushed to the back of the boat to the 'engine,' a device that Besrodio and he had salvaged in recent weeks. With a yank of a cord the engine roared, and the boat was propelled forward out into the Black Coral Sea.

"Now where do we go?" Mustadio asked. "We surely can't go north, unless you happen to _want_ to get caught by Murond. The same is true of the east. Warjilis is controlled by Lionel, and Lionel by Murond."

"Yes… and the open ocean to the south and west is no option, either," Besrodio added. "Let's go north, but well east enough to be clear of Murond. We might be able to find an easy shore to land on, and from there we could take the old trade roads east. We may find clemency in Ordalia."

* * *

Just a quick author's note on the naming of the High Priest Bevelle. As I wrote this four years ago, Final Fantasy X was unknown to me, as was the name Bevelle. I'm awful with names, really. Most of the original names in this story are hodgepodges of my friend's names. Bevelle is no exception. My friend's last name being Bevel, I Francified it into Bevelle. Even names that you may think are original have really been mined out of obscure job quests and other endeavors in this fine game. Pappal, Mickey Kappa, even Alesta the Mage and Bitz, both from the prologue, appear in a job quest.

I just want you all to know that I am not so inept in naming characters that I rely on taking placenames from other games for the surnames of my characters. Though, I am just inept enough not to change it after the fact. I like the name, the name stays.


	6. Chapter 5: The Wave

Rise of the Valiant  
Chapter Five: The Wave  
JDickensIV

The day was fresh. Dew, slightly frozen from the night before, still graced the lush grass in the western outskirts of the Araguay Woods east of Dorter.

The serene quiet of the early morning was disturbed by the ring of metal on metal. Two women battled in a small clearing a short distance from a small cottage on the edge of the forest as two more women looked on.

Both combatants had the appearance and stature of nobles. The two were of similar height, one a brunette and the other a blonde, whose hair went past shoulder length for both. The blonde wielded a rune blade, and the other a Save the Queen. They were equally matched, neither being able to gain advantage on the other.

The brunette let her blade swing low towards the other's legs, but was met with a rune blade stopping her stroke. The blonde countered, bringing her rune blade up towards the chest of her opponent. With a quick flick of the wrist, the brunette circled her Save the Queen around and batted the blonde's blade down to the ground, out from her grasp. The brunette thrust her blade towards the other, but the blonde turned a three-sixty with the brunette's blade stopping, suspended in air just to the side of the blonde. In turning, the blonde crouched to her knees, picked up her rune blade, and hurriedly brought the tip of her blade to the brunette's neck.

"Best two out of three?" the blonde asked.

"Perhaps later. I'm totally exhausted, Agrias," the brunette answered.

"Yes, well you put up quite a fight, Meliadoul," Agrias told the other.

"Have you two had enough already?" one of the spectators asked. "The day is still early, and there is still plenty time left for sparring. But breakfast comes but once a day, and the morning is getting on."

The two spectators of this match were Lavian and Alicia, loyal friends and ex-members of the Lesalia St. Konoe Knights along with Agrias Oaks. Both had strawberry blonde hair and both were of identical height. The two seemed as though they were indeed identical twins, but they were in fact simply childhood friends.

With a smile Agrias replied, "Yes, you are right, Alicia. Let's go get some breakfast."

Agrias, Meliadoul, Lavian, and Alicia all came to live and train together in the woods of Araguay to hone their skills after they defeated Altima with Ramza. While they enjoyed sparring for entertainment, Agrias and Meliadoul's main objective was to conquer one another's special sword skill. For years Meliadoul had trained in the holy sword skills with Agrias as her master, just as Agrias had trained in the mighty sword skill with Meliadoul as her master.

The four friends made their way into the cabin in search of sustenance that morning.

At the conclusion of breakfast, Meliadoul said, "I noticed we are low on supplies. It might not be a bad idea to suspend our training for the day to make for Dorter."

"Yes… we won't last more than a few days with the supplies as they are," Agrias agreed. "Do you two want to join us?"

"Certainly!" Alicia was always anxious to go into town.

"Yeah, I'll go too," Lavian added.

Agrias said, "Ok then, we should leave now so we don't get there too late," and with that they all left the cabin, heading west to Dorter.

XXX

The engine sputtered and died some hundred yards from an unknown shore.

"It was a matter of time, I suppose," Besrodio stated. "It's a shame it didn't do that a couple of minutes from now, though."

"Yeah… no kidding," Mustadio answered. "Now what do we do?"

"Well… all we have in the way of supplies is a bit of food I was able to make off with, so we don't really have anything much to carry," Besrodio surmised. "We can easily swim the distance, though; our food will get a little wet."

"After you then. I'll get the food," Mustadio said, as he gestured towards the shore. He was not too enthused about swimming a hundred yards, but he knew there wasn't much they could do with no wind, and no paddle.

The two made it to shore after a little effort, Mustadio with a soaked pack in hand.

After they had carefully examined their surroundings, Mustadio said, "It's a good thing we don't have a map… otherwise we might know where we are," a slight grin forming on his face.

"Yes… it is most unfortunate," Besrodio answered, scarcely acknowledging the jest. "By the looks of this place I have no idea where we are, but position is relative to our initial position. We were to the south, we are now north. My guess is… we are somewhere to the south of the trade road between Gariland and Dorter. If we make our way north we will find the trade road, and from there we can begin our trek east to Ordalia."

"Alright… that makes sense," Mustadio replied. "That's why you have the brains and I have the looks!" Mustadio could scarcely contain his laughter.

"Hmmm… Perhaps, but where do you think your looks come from? They come from strangers on the street who wonder what exactly is wrong with you!" Besrodio counter, patting his son on the back.

The inseparable pair, now in much better spirits, if not in much dryer clothing, headed north in search of civilization.

XXX

The journey for Pappal back to Zeltennia had been a hard one indeed. The whole journey home was a constant reminder of his friend Vincent's death. Pappal insisted that he would personally see to it that Vincent was returned to his home in Zeltennia. Vincent's body had to be petrified with the oracle's art in order for him to be laid to rest with the generations of Tildéa's who came before him.

Gray clouds filled the sky over Zeltennia as Pappal jumped off of his carriage and made his way towards the door to Tildéa manor. He took a deep breath, clinched his teeth, and knocked.

The door creaked open and a servant greeted him, "Ah! Master McEnroe! Please, come in! I'll fetch Lord Tildéa."

As quick as Pappal entered, the servant was off to search out his master. After a short while, Pappal turned to a boisterous voice that called out, "Hello, _Sir_ McEnroe! Hah, what cause would have you darkening my doorstep, I wonder! It is good to see you! My son is with you? Stabling the chocobos, I presume?"

Pappal swallowed hard and said in a soft voice, "He is with me, in a manner of speaking…"

In a much more grave tone, Lord Tildéa asked, "What has happened to my boy…?"

Pappal explained, "It grieves me to tell you this. But it would grieve me more for the task to fall to another. We had arrived ahead of schedule for our knighting… We went to a public execution… Ramza Beoulve and Cidolfas Orlandu showed up in an attempt to free the prisoner… Your son made to apprehend Cidolfas, and Ramza Beoulve… killed him."

Despite the fact that it had been many days since it happened, it was still hard for Pappal to choke out these last words. At the sound of these words, Lord Tildéa slumped over slightly and braced himself upon the nearest wall.

The funeral, which took place the day after Lord Tildéa had heard of his son's demise, was a quiet affair with few guests aside from Vincent's family and the McEnroe father and son.

After the funeral, Pappal approached his father at their estate and asked, "…So father, what news do you have of these last few weeks?"

McEnroe answered, "I'm not entirely certain that this is the time for small talk."

Pappal replied, "I can think of no better time. I would do well to keep my mind off of recent events, lest I go mad. I keep thinking: I tried to stop Vincetn... but what if I helped him. Couldn't we have won the day together? Could I have done more? I saw him draw his last breath, held his hand as his spirit left him. All because I was too cautious. Please, father. Any diversion would be welcome."

McEnroe frowned slightly and then said, "Very well… Oh, this may interest you. Sean Barteaux approached me a few days ago and asked if I would help him to recruit soldiers. He even suggested that I take command of my old knights."

"Are you going to?" Pappal was very interested in this subject.

The elder McEnroe stated, "Well, I don't see why I should. It's been forever since last I fought, and I swore I never would raise a blade again."

Pappal was a little annoyed at this. He said, "And why not? Do you not care about your fellow man? Clemence raises his forces to protect us from threats, both from without and within, and yet you remain capable and unwilling to take action."

McEnroe conceded, "…Hmmm. You know I don't like it when you disapprove of me. But still: I took an oath never to raise my sword again."

Pappal stated, "And what of that? All a man needs to command his men is a noble heart and a decisive will. And a man can fight without a sword easily enough. Perhaps you could refresh your spear-work. Don't tell me old age has taken you already."

McEnroe smiled and said, "No, I have life yet enough for this. Speaking with you has been a pleasure, my son. Perhaps I will lead my old knights. By the way… where do you go from here?"

Pappal answered, "Tomorrow I leave for the academy barracks. I will begin instructing there alongside my old master Gradeyk." With a chuckle he added, "Hopefully Barteaux has been successful in recruiting, otherwise I'll have nothing to do."

XXX

Midday was approaching in Goland Coal City. The sun had risen high above the scarce shops and abundant mines. On a given day, little activity could be found save for a few travelers making their way to Lesalia, but this day was different.

Twenty soldiers of the Shrine Knights arrived at the entrance of Goland. They did not come for a pleasurable visit to the small mining town, either.

Following the escape of Ramza Beoulve and Cidolfas Orlandu, and since Prince Clemence's acquisition of power from the church, Clemence had ordered a thorough search of areas that the heretics of the Durai Papers were likely hiding.

The first city to be searched was Goug Machine City. The fact that Mustadio Bunanza lived in Goug with his father was well known. With ample forces now acquired, Prince Clemence's next action was to simultaneously search the cities that are immediately to the south of Lesalia, as that is the direction Ramza and Orlandu had escaped to.

The Shrine Knights were now here for just that purpose.

"Listen up!" the captain of the knights announced to his men. "Now, as you know, the heretics Ramza Beoulve and Cidolfas Orlandu are in the area. Act with extreme caution. Kill on sight. This is no weak gang of thieves. Search out the area and ask around for information. That is all."

The group then dispersed throughout the area, interrogating residents as they went further into town. One young knight took notice of the shops near the town entrance, and entered one with little hesitation.

"Oh, a knight of the church," the shopkeeper, Luke, yelled out from the back, "What can I do for you?"

Getting to the point quickly, the knight said, "We're here searching for known fugitives… Have you seen any suspicious characters around about?"

"Oh, ah… well, there were some characters in here about two weeks ago," Luke replied carefully, not knowing the intent of the knights. "What sort of characters were you looking for?"

The knight replied, "A wounded older man, a young man, and a young woman."

"Yup, that's them," Luke replied, "Came in here a while back, looking for someone."

Excited that he was the one to have found this news, the young knight quickly exited the establishment.

"Sir!" the knight called out as he ran back towards his captain. "Sir, there is a resident here who knows something. It seems there were two men and a young woman who arrived in town not two weeks ago."

"Is that a fact? Do they know where they are now?" the captain asked.

The young knight disregarded the fact that he was too excited to find out where they are currently, so he said, "It seems they were looking for someone. I was unable to gather who it was they were looking for."

"Bring me this informant. I want to verify this," the captain replied.

"You summoned me?" Luke asked, as he approached the captain. He was followed closely behind by the young knight.

"Yes I did," the captain replied. "Do you know exactly where the fugitives are?"

"Well, not exactly, perhaps," Luke replied. "You see, they came into town about a week ago looking for someone. A local rough customer. If they had any legitimate business with him, they're probably over in that inn. If they didn't have any legitimate business with him… he probably killed them by now."

After a short pause for contemplation, the captain ordered a nearby lieutenant, "Gather our men, we have our fugitives! I want every man to search that inn upside down and backwards!"

The men throughout the streets of Goland Coal City responded to their captain as word was passed. The knights then all began to converge upon the inn. Luke went back to his shop, locked up the doors, and made his way south to the residential district.

XXX

"How are you feeling, Cid?" Reis asked in a gentle tone.

"Thanks to you, I'm full strength, I think," Orlandu replied, thankful of her assistance.

Ramza, Beowulf, Orlandu, Reis, and Alma were sitting around the dinner table passing the time in idle conversation following the filling lunch they just had.

During a lull in conversation, the sound of running footsteps could be heard outside, followed by a pounding at the front door of Beowulf and Reis' quaint house. Ramza, Beowulf, and Orlandu shot each other wary glances, and each jumped from their chairs to their blades.

"Expecting company?" Ramza asked.

"No," Beowulf replied as he approached the door, blade at the ready.

He opened the door, ready for a fight. "Luke!" he exclaimed in surprise. "That's a good way to get yourself run through!" He grabbed the shopkeeper by the scruff and dragged him inside.

"Yes, but I had to come," Luke replied. "It seems you have some more visitors, but this time perhaps less well-meaning than the first."

Luke has since been properly introduced to Ramza, Orlandu, and Alma and their connection to Beowulf had been thoroughly explained to him. Ever since Beowulf took up residence in Goland the shopkeeper and Beowulf had become friends, to an extent. Luke was, at the very least, the only person in the town he had trusted.

"It would seem that the Shrine Knights have a newly rekindled interest in you and your well-being," Luke stated. "Not to mention that of your guests."

"How many?" Beowulf asked.

"Fifteen, maybe more," Luke replied.

"We've had worse odds," Ramza suggested as he shot a glance over to Orlandu, "But we will have to run eventually. We can't just stay here now that they know where we are. It's only a matter of time until they ransack the residential district."

"We may be able to buy some time, though," Orlandu suggested. "We could give Alma and Reis ample opportunity to prepare for a journey."

"They don't exactly know where you are just yet," Luke said. "I almost forgot: I told them that you were in the inn on the north end."

"Ok, so here is the plan," Ramza began. "Beowulf, Orlandu, and myself go to the inn to buy some time. Alma and Reis prepare for a long trip, but where are we going?"

Beowulf answered, "We can't very well go east straight into the mountains, and it would seem we can't go north. That leaves south, to Dorter."

"That'll be a trick," Luke said. "I overheard from one of the knights that there are units active in Dorter as well."

"Active units? But that means they have a lead," Alma stated, her fear showing clear in her tone.

"Yes, and that's all the more reason for us to go there as soon as we can," Orlandu replied.

"Ok, so we'll meet at the south gate then," Ramza stated.

Ramza, Beowulf, and Orlandu all made for the door. They swiftly turned north, heading for the north end inn, but not so quick as to draw attention from the residents. Ramza had at his left side his Defender, and at his right a rune blade. Beowulf carried with him a rune blade, and Orlandu had with him his trusty Excalibur.

After a short time the three stopped a block short of the inn.

At the end of the lane they currently traveled, they saw two knights posted searching the immediate area. Ramza, Beowulf, and Orlandu glanced at each other, and knowing what they had to do, began covering the remaining distance between them and the Shrine Knights.

Beowulf lagged behind, guarding the rear, as Ramza and Orlandu, both having ranged attacks, moved ahead breaking into a run.

One of the knights looked to his surprise at his companion who fell to the ground, a rune blade lodged in his chest. He looked up to see two cloaked men charging him just some twenty feet away. Before he could draw his blade he heard an assailant cry out, "Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lighting Stab!" and a great sword shaped lighting bolt struck him dead.

"That was easy enough," Ramza said, drawing his blade from his enemy's chest.

"Yes, but there are more to come," Orlandu wisely stated. He then called out, "Beowulf, hold that end, we'll take this one!"

The lane they were on ran directly into the inn, where the two knights had been stationed. A road crossed their lane alongside the inn where Ramza and Orlandu were, and another road intersected their lane further south were Beowulf was.

Sure enough, some knights who had heard Orlandu invoke his Lightning Stab were on their way.

One knight who thought he'd be clever and circle to the assailants rear turned the corner and found himself clothes-lined by Beowulf's rune blade. He was knocked off of his feet, never to rise again. Two more came from the front of the inn around to the south side. One approached Ramza and the other Orlandu.

Ramza wasted no time in his attack. His assailant brought his blade up and prepared to strike at Ramza. Ramza had his Defender in his right hand and his rune blade in his left hand. With his Defender starting pointing to the ground to his left, Ramza raised his Defender to meet the knight's blade with such force that the knight's blade cracked, and all but six inches from the hilt fell to the ground. Ramza continued with his momentum, turned full circle, and slashed the knight across the chest with his rune blade.

Orlandu grasped his Excalibur with both hands as it met with his opponent's blade above Orlandu's head. Orlandu quickly stopped providing resistance for his opponent's blade and sidestepped to his left as his opponent's blade slid off of the tip of Excalibur to the ground. Orlandu then arced his blade and extended his arms, catching Excalibur across the knight's bare neck.

Orlandu turned to Ramza and said, "Do you think we've stalled long enough?"

Ramza's eyes grew big, and without hesitation he let his rune blade fly. Orlandu turned to see a knight, blade raised, with Ramza's rune blade stuck in his belly.

"Maybe now," Ramza casually replied as he retrieved his rune blade.

Orlandu and Ramza made their way swiftly back toward Beowulf just down the way. He was busy with his own man at the time, but by the time they got there he had finished him.

"We had better hurry," Ramza stated. "This was only a preliminary search unit. Once Clemence finds out where we are, he'll send a hundred men just to catch us."

"Yeah, and by my count we have eight knights yet alive… that is if there were truly only fifteen to begin with," Orlandu remarked.

The three old friends made their way to the southern gate. Once there, they found Alma and Reis waiting with five chocobos, each laden with a few supplies.

"Good to see you're all alive," Reis gladly told them.

"Yes, we were starting to get worried," Alma added.

"Well, we're here now. Are things all set for our trip?" Ramza asked.

"Yes, it's all here. Food, potions, everything we'll need. We even picked up some extra in case we have friends in need at Dorter," Reis assured them.

"Ok, then. Let's get going," Ramza announced. "If there is action in Dorter, we'll need to get there as soon as possible to help out our friends. I hope they're all alright."

XXX

Red and orange light streaked the sky as the sun was setting on another profitable day of commerce for the trade city of Dorter.

Agrias and Meliadoul were on their way back to the inn that they rented for the night. They had planned to rest up before their return trip to the cottage with Alicia and Lavian, who were waiting for them back at the inn.

Shops were closing up on all sides as Agrias and Meliadoul walked along the darkening road. The buildings all around were becoming darker the lower the sun got, except for the occasional yellow light emanating from within the windows of the pubs of Dorter.

After a short while Agrias and Meliadoul found their way back to their inn. Once in their room Meliadoul said, "I'm glad that's done. This should last us for at least another month."

"Yes, this trip has been a nice getaway, but I'm always glad to return home," Agrias said.

At this time a commotion could be heard in the lobby of the inn. Agrias went to the door, cracked it open, and peeked out.

She shut the door quickly. Agrias turned around and in a worried tone said, "There are Shrine Knights and St. Konoe Knights in the lobby."

"What do you think they want?" Lavian asked.

"I'll give you four guesses," Alicia said, "That's one for each of us."

"You're probably right," Meliadoul confirmed, "Let's make for the window."

"What about our supplies?" Lavian asked. "We can't possibly carry all of these without our chocobos in the stable."

"There's no time for that now," Agrias suggested, "We need to get ourselves clear of this place, and now. We might be able to return for our supplies some time, but for now we must flee."

The four made their way towards the window in the back of their room. With no supplies save their blades, they climbed out to a side alley.

The sky was dark, the moon the only source of light.

Alicia asked, "Now what do we do? We have no supplies and no place to go. If we go home we'll be going home to a cabin with no food."

"Well, we can't stay here for long," Agrias stated. "Let's make our way out of this alley for now."

As soon as the four had passed from the alley to the main road, a soldier announced, "Hey! They're over here!"

Meliadoul called out, "The doom of a planet… Crush Punch!" With that an eerie red fog formed a sword around the soldier. The fog disappeared as soon as it formed, leaving the soldier dead in its wake. A dozen more soldiers were now closing on the group by then.

Agrias, Meliadoul, Alicia, and Lavian knew the odds were too poor, so they turned and began to flee.

"Get them! They're outnumbered, men!" one of the captains announced.

One of the St. Konoe Knights pulled back the string on his bow, his sights set on Alicia. As he was about to let the arrow fly to its mark a shot rang out. The archer was stunned at first, and eventually he removed the stress from his bowstring and collapsed.

The source of the shot was none other than Mustadio Bunanza. Mustadio was some fifty yards ahead of Agrias and the rest on the road that they were running on. In seeing that they were being pursued by a large number of knights, he handed his father a spare gun.

"Aim at their knees, chest, or head if they get too near," Mustadio instructed him with cold precision.

"I've shot a gun or two in my day, Mustadio," Besrodio remarked.

They each then set about picking off the oncoming knights. When the group of women reached them, they took up stride with them.

"Thanks for the help, but what are you doing here?" Agrias asked as she ran, recognizing her old friends.

Mustadio turned his head, raised his gun to his line of sight, and fired. A knight in pursuit fell as he said, "Perhaps we'll explain a little bit later."

After a few minutes of running, Mustadio said, "I'm beginning to tire of this. If you think you can hold them, I'll be able to get several shots off." He then turned his head and after counting said, "It looks like there's about fifteen of them."

"Ok, we'll confront them after this next intersection," Agrias replied.

The group came to the intersection shortly, and the four women turned to face the knights. Mustadio and Besrodio ran a few feet further, then turned to snipe the knights.

Mustadio let a shot fly into the chest of the nearest knight who fell dead. Besrodio then set his sights on another knight who in turn collapsed to the ground, grabbing for his knee. Besrodio had to reload his gun, but Mustadio grabbed for another spare in his holster. He then took aim and fired at another knight who fell dead.

The knights now had a chance to strike at the group since the snipers had to reload. Agrias and Meliadoul both had two knights to deal with each, and Alicia and Lavian had one for each of them. The other knights were still bearing down on them.

Agrias blocked a thrust from the knight to her left, and then blocked a downward strike from the other. Wasting no time, she let her blade fly to the chest of the knight on her left. She then quickly pulled her rune blade from the knight's chest, and blocked down and to her right. She then parried a thrust, drawing the knight off balance. The knight stumbled, and Agrias slashed him across the chest with her rune blade.

Meliadoul handled her opponents with finesse. The knight to her right swung his blade hard and high. Meliadoul met his blade with such force that he was stunned and took a few steps backwards. Meliadoul stepped and turned, showing her back to the other knight. She flipped her Save the Queen upside down, and thrust it behind her into the knight to her left. At this point her other opponent had recovered and was making his way to Meliadoul. Meliadoul drew her blade from her opponent and swiftly brought her arm upwards, slicing the knight across the chest. At the peak of her stroke she turned her blade right side up and came down across the knight's chest once more, carving an x into his flesh.

Alicia traded parries and strokes with her man until, after a short while she dispatched him, just as Lavian did with her man.

By this time Mustadio and Besrodio had reloaded their guns, and just in time. The next wave of knights was closing in on the group. Mustadio and Besrodio each chose their man. Two shots rang out, and two more knights fell to the ground. Mustadio already had his spare ready. He drew it to his line of sight, chose his mark, and pulled the trigger. Yet another knight fell to the road, a victim of Mustadio's marksmanship.

The remaining three knights stopped running and took a look around. They turned and ran at the sight of all of their fallen companions.

"Where do we go now?" Meliadoul asked.

"We can't stay here, and we can't return to our home," Agrias said. "Even if we had supplies at our cabin, the people here in town know where we came from. It would only be a matter of time before the knights found out about our home and came for us."

"We don't have much gil, either," Alicia noted. "We only brought enough for the supplies we needed. It would be pointless to go to another town looking for supplies: we've nothing to buy them with."

"This may be a long shot, but I hear there are supplies still in sand rat cellar, left over from when the Death Corps had men stationed there," Agrias suggested. "I hear that they may have magically preserved the food, so that they would survive in an extreme siege. If that doesn't pan out, we can always go further north to Goland."

"Sounds good enough for me," Mustadio commented. "Goland is the nearest town any way you slice it."

"Ok, lets go then. We better hurry though… the sun in Zeklaus Desert can be unbearable in the day, even at this time of year," Mustadio suggested.

After the group rested a few moments from their encounter, they headed north to Zeklaus Desert in search of sand rat cellar.

XXX

"Why are my ranks persistently plagued with incompetence?" Prince Clemence asked, more than a little angered at the news he had just received.

General Thomas Pranis said, "Sir, they were not expecting to run into the mechanics from Goug. They were presumed dead after they escaped into Black Coral Sea with no wind to make sail."

General Pranis continued, "We do know where they are going, though. An informant from Dorter says they are making for sand rat cellar. Also, Ramza Beoulve, Cidolfas Orlandu, Alma Beoulve, Beowulf Kadmus, and Reis Kadmus are leaving south from Goland towards Dorter. If we mount an attack before these two groups meet in passing, we'll be able to wipe them out, one after the other."

"Yes… that is a good plan," Clemence conceded. "But it would seem we have had a lot of good plans go wrong lately. I want you to personally see it done. Take no survivors."

"I will see it done," Thomas Pranis replied.

General Pranis was about to take his leave of his master, but Clemence said, "Before you go, how goes the recruiting?"

Pranis reported, "As per your request, we have men dispatched to Gallione and Zeltennia in order to train the new recruits. Robert Magrat is heading the recruiting in Gallione, and Sean Barteaux is heading the recruiting in Zeltennia as well as in Limberry. The actual numbers have not yet arrived from Magrat, but Barteaux has reported recruits in the thousands. Daniel Kappa is also aiding Magrat in Gallione."

"That is good, for a start, but by the end of next month I want two hundred thousand new enlistees," Clemence stated.

General Pranis' eyes nearly shot out of his head. He said, "If I may ask sir, why do we require such a force?"

"We are at war general, at least we will be shortly," Clemence began. "We are to invade Ordalia by the end of next month. They invaded us long ago, and for fifty years they occupied our lands and subjugated our people. I just plan on returning the favor… not to mention reaping the spoils that can be found on foreign soil."

After General Pranis let this soak in, he said, "Very well, sir. We will recruit until sufficient invasion forces are raised." He then took his leave of his master to begin preparations for his attack on sand rat cellar.

Thomas did not know what to think. He had always been a loyal supporter of his masters: first King Delita, who he had served under as a young officer, and now Prince Clemence. But this move seemed unwise at best. Thomas took his mind off of these thoughts and now focused on the task at hand.

XXX

"Have you found any supplies yet?" Agrias called out to Meliadoul, who was searching the dark supply cache of sand rat cellar.

Meliadoul replied from within, "I think so, but I can barely see two feet in front of myself."

"Come back out here," Agrias called out. "We can use your torch to light some more torches."

Meliadoul came up the short stairs out of the cellar with a torch in hand. When Agrias saw her rising to the surface, she grabbed three torches: one for Alicia, one for Lavian, and one for herself. They each lit their torch off of Meliadoul's torch, and all made their way into the storage.

"Ah… much better," Meliadoul said as they made their way to the bottom.

The sporadic light from each of their torches combined, sufficiently illuminating the fairly large storage facility.

"Ugghhh… what a horrid stench!" Agrias exclaimed as the smell of rotted meat and moldy bread met their nostrils.

Near to the entrance was a good deal of meat that had been packed in salt, which had obviously gone bad years ago. There were decomposed piles of black goo, which were assumed to be bread, though no one could tell it without a good hard look.

"I thought as much," Agrias said. "We might as well make our way to the back, just to make sure." At this point Agrias was filled with despair, but she tried not to show it.

When they finally made their way to the back of the storage, they discovered something unusual.

"Look at all this food!" Alicia exclaimed.

"There's enough here for a hundred years!" Lavian added.

There was, unspoiled, food piled high in the very back of the cellar.

"I can't believe it…" Meliadoul trailed off.

Agrias grabbed a piece of bread, and said, "Look… it's been magically preserved…"

Meliadoul asked, "You don't suppose it's really more than five years old, do you?"

Agrias replied, "Well, by the looks of this place, no one has been here in _at least_ five years."

Meliadoul added, "Yeah… and by the looks of it, someone was preparing for one hell of a siege. The preserved food hasn't even been touched."

"That doesn't mean we can't touch it now, though," Lavian said. "Lets load up on this stuff, and quick… this place gives me the creeps, not to mention the stench."

The four quickly filled their packs with preserved meat and bread and then surfaced, glad to be free of the wretched smell.

When they had escaped the stench, Alicia said, "Alright, now we have food, but what are we going to do? The knights that were after us would have reported us by now, and more are surely on their way."

"Alicia is right about that," Meliadoul remarked. "We can't stay here long."

"We can't go back south… and we really can't go north either. There were St. Konoe Knights along with the Shrine Knights in Dorter. Clemence is behind this, and Goland is way too close to Lesalia," Agrias reasoned.

Lavian suggested, "We have plenty of supplies now… perhaps we could try to forge a pass through the mountains to the east."

Agrias stated, "Well, I don't really like the idea of going into the mountains, but at the moment, it seems that is our only choice."

Just as Agrias said this, Mustadio and Besrodio came running from the battlement, down the stairs, and straight to the group of women.

Mustadio yelled, "There are people approaching on chocobos! I think they may be Shrine Knight or St. Konoe Knight scouts!"

"How many did you see?!" Meliadoul yelled.

"Five," Mustadio said, his voice lowering in volume the closer he got. "But there are more on the way in the distance."

"Alright, we've run out of time!" Agrias yelled, taking control. "Mustadio and Besrodio to the battlements! Everyone else, lets go to the main entrance! We found food enough for a hell of a siege, and that's what they are going to get."

The scouts pulled up to the sand rat cellar and dismounted from their chocobos. Mustadio raised his mythril gun up to his eye, picked out his next mark… and then froze.

Mustadio lowered his gun, motioned to Besrodio to do the same, and then yelled, "Agrias! No, wait!"

But it was too late. Agrias charged out of the main entrance with her rune blade swinging with precision and skill. She would have cleaved the head right off of the shoulders of the man she attacked, had her rune blade not been stopped by the man's Defender.

Agrias shook all over from a sickness that seemed to originate from the pit of her stomach, and then quickly spread throughout the whole of her body. Her rune blade dropped to the sand with a thud as she said in a quivering tone, "Oh, Ramza! I almost…"

Ramza sheathed his Defender and quickly embraced Agrias, afraid that she would fall for all her shaking. Meliadoul fidgeted where she stood as she looked on at this scene.

Ramza hugged Agrias tight and said, "Don't worry, you haven't done anything. I'm still here."

"Maybe not for long!" Mustadio called from above. "Look! A host of men approaches! I don't think we know that many people, to be sure!"

Ramza gazed in disbelief at the approaching force. He then took command saying, "Ok! It's good to see everyone alive again, but it will be better to see you alive tomorrow. This is a battle that we can not escape… so we will meet it head on!"


	7. Chapter 6: Confrontation

Rise of the Valiant  
Chapter Six: Confrontation  
JDickensIV

Ramza raced to the top of the battlements to have a look at the battle that loomed ahead.

When he reached the top he asked Mustadio, "Have you gotten an accurate count on the enemy yet?"

"I'm not certain, but it appears there are at least fifty in all," Mustadio replied. "I do know that they are divided into two distinguishable groups, though why I'm not sure."

"St. Konoe Knights and Shrine Knights," Ramza answered.

In truth there were more than fifty men. In all there were thirty St. Konoe Knights, thirty Shrine Knights, with a might sword-using commander of the Shrine Knights, and a holy sword-using commander of the St. Konoe Knights. The commander of the Shrine Knights was a young captain, but the commander of the St. Konoe Knights was none other than General Thomas Pranis.

The main entrance to sand rat cellar lies to the west. The St. Konoe Knights arrived from the north. The Shrine Knights arrived from the south. General Pranis' knights had expected to catch Ramza, Cid, Beowulf, Reis, and Alma out in the desert, but they did not anticipate their reaching sand rat cellar to find Meliadoul, Agrias, Lavian, Alicia, and the Bunanzas. The Shrine Knights were dispatched from Dorter, hot on the heels of the latter group.

"Mustadio, Besrodio… you both set up right here," Ramza told the mechanics. He then took off down from the battlements.

When Ramza got to the base of the stairs he said, "The battle begins now. We have two options before us. We can either wait here and be slaughtered, or we meet them in the open. They have two forces in the battlefield. We cannot afford for them to combine their forces. Agrias, Lavian, Beowulf, and myself will attack the St. Konoe Knights to the north. Orlandu, Alicia, Reis, and Meliadoul; you go fight the Shrine Knights. Alma, I must ask that you stay here and that you don't argue, either. You will be needed for your healing after battle, and you can't help anyone if you die out there. If we watch each other's backs, we just might live to see each other again."

"Right, well… we have no time to strategize about this further… we need to meet them before their forces combine," Orlandu advised.

The Shrine Knights' forces had a total of five archers, ten lancers, ten knights, and five squires. The St. Konoe Knights' forces had five black mages, fifteen knights, five ninjas, and five archers.

Ramza yelled to the top of the battlements, "Mustadio! Take out the archers and mages as quick as you can!" Then, redirecting his advice to those assembled at the west gate, he said, "That goes for everyone else too. Be wary of the archers and mages… they have the most range. With Mustadio and Besrodio up top providing support, we should not have too much trouble. Just stick together and don't die on me."

With that said, the eight split into two groups of four, one heading north, and the other south. As they did this, Mustadio and Besrodio divided their ammo, and Mustadio went north as his father made for the southern battlements.

Orlandu led the charge out of the west gate and to the south towards the advancing Shrine Knights. Close behind were Alicia and Meliadoul. Reis had stayed behind, not being skilled with any weapons, but most useful if alive for her healing powers. By the time all of the Shrine Knights were in view, Besrodio was already in place atop the southern battlements.

As Orlandu charged the men now a hundred feet from him he heard a shot ring out, and an archer fell where he stood. At this the Shrine Knights broke into a run at the group that was now fast approaching their doom.

The Shrine Knights were lined up with the archers in back protected by the knights and lancers ahead. Orlandu charged straight for a group of lancers, who braced for him to strike, but instead Orlandu exclaimed, "Heaven's wish to destroy all minds… Holy Explosion!" and a wave of holy light shot down from the heavens, exploding at the lancer's feet, leaving three of the lancers dead.

All the while, Besrodio had successfully taken out two more archers, leaving only two more, but that mattered little to his friends enveloped by the battle that raged below. Orlandu, Alicia, and Meliadoul were now fighting like mad to stem the tide of their opposition's advance. As quick as they would vanquish a foe, another would arrive to take his place, and all the while, arrows from the remaining archers would whiz by, nearly making their mark.

Eventually, the last remaining archer released an arrow that did strike true. As quick as he released the bowstring he was gunned down by Besrodio, but that mattered little to Alicia. Alicia was struck in her right shoulder shortly after vanquishing a squire who fell before her.

Orlandu turned to see what had happened and was dismayed at the sight of Alicia falling before his eyes. Reis was already on her way with potions to aid Alicia, and taking this into consideration, Orlandu continued his fight with the never-ending onslaught, not stopping for his fallen comrade.

Now it was he and Meliadoul alone against what remained of their adversaries. In all there were only five lancers and six knights left along with their commander, who was still waiting behind the horde.

The bodies of the fallen lay strewn about the sand, dunes of corpses all around Orlandu and Meliadoul, but that mattered little as they were still fighting for their very lives. Two of the remaining lancers lunged high into the air, intent on utterly crushing Orlandu as they descended, but that proved a fatal mistake for them. Orlandu, who had recently freed himself from a battle with a knight by dispatching him, now had time to invoke a sword skill. Orlandu exclaimed, "Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Stab!" and in mid-air the lancers were struck dead, falling short of their mark. Their corpses fell smoking to the ground.

All the while, Meliadoul was busy with a few knights of her own. Three of the remaining knights decided it best to gang up on Meliadoul. Meliadoul parried strokes from each of the knights to either side, leaving them both slightly shocked. The center knight then raised his blade high, intent on breaking Meliadoul's Save the Queen. Meliadoul knew better than to block this stroke, and instead stepped to the right, letting the stroke fall hard to the ground. She then wasted no time in bringing her blade to the now exposed neck of the center knight. By now the other two had recovered.

The knight to her left swung down from above, but was met with a Save the Queen. The other then swung low to Meliadoul's right, and Meliadoul brought her blade fast to meet it. She then took her blade from the knight's and thrust it through the gut of the knight to her left. With only one to go, she withdrew her blade, parried one last time, and then countered. Her counter was unchecked, and the last knight fell dead.

With her last knight dead, Meliadoul looked at Orlandu to see how he had fared. Orlandu was now fighting two knights and one lancer… _only one lancer_… and at this moment she looked up none too soon. Meliadoul lunged out of the way as two lancers came crashing down with their spears pointed. They had not been prepared for their quarry to evade them at the last moment, and as such, they landed spears first into the ground. Both of the lancers had impaled themselves upon the blunt end of each of their own lances.

Meliadoul was soon at the aid of Orlandu and together they swiftly dispatched the remaining knights and the final lancer. Now all that remained for them was the commander.

The Shrine Knight commander looked astonished at the scene that had played out before him. Dead bodies lay about at all angles with rich, red blood staining the hot sand of the desert. The bodies of his men… all dead… all at the hands of three people.

The rage that burned inside him soon gave way to fear as he saw the adversaries that had caused such carnage turn their sights upon him. Drawing his sword, but thinking better of it, he mounted his uneasy chocobo and immediately fled from whence he came.

Unable to chase him down on foot, Orlandu turned to Meliadoul and said, "Whew… that was a trick." Then, remembering Alicia he said, "I hope Alicia is alright, not to mention the others."

Meliadoul replied, "I'm sure Alicia will be fine with Reis to tend to her, but maybe we should head to the other battle and see how they are faring. They may be in need of assistance."

And with no more discussion, the winded friends made their way hastily to the skirmish to their north.

XXX

As Orlandu led the charge south, Ramza headed north towards the St. Konoe Knights with Beowulf, Agrias, and Lavian close behind. Mustadio had already parted with his father and was now atop the north wall.

By the time Ramza had reached the knights, Mustadio had dispatched a black mage and an archer, and he was now reloading his two guns. In mid stride Ramza took careful aim, and then threw his rune blade straight through the chest of a ninja on the front line. He then extended his now free hand and yelled, "Brush off vanity, and show reality! Ultima!" A blast of green flame burst from his hand and struck and knocked back three knights who were near the fallen ninja. Ramza charged the startled knights, and thrust his Defender into the nearest one's chest. As he did, he retrieved his rune blade from the chest of the fallen ninja, and then quickly dispatched the other two knights simultaneously.

All the while, the three remaining archers (Mustadio had already dispatched another along with another mage) had taken aim at Agrias, who was just to Ramza's right disposing of a couple of ninjas. Two of the arrows went astray, but a third did not. With no time to spare, Ramza swung his rune blade in a swift arc in front of Agrias. Ramza had successfully batted the arrow away before it had met its mark. With no time to thank him, Agrias finished with her two ninjas only to be confronted by even more soldiers.

Beowulf, to Ramza's left, had received a terrible frostbite on his entire left side: testament to the fact that he could not dodge an ice 3 spell in time. He was not out of the fray, though. With his rune blade in his right, he continued to battle, even being successful at defeating two knights at once, but he could not take many more wounds like it. After defeating the two knights who were protecting the treacherous wizard who had wounded him, Beowulf easily dispatched the defenseless mage.

By the time Beowulf had claimed his wizard, Mustadio had taken down the last two mages, and Lavian had already dealt with the last of the ninjas. Lavian was now trading stokes and blocks with two knights while dodging the remaining archers' arrows. Lavian was smart in dodging left and right between the knights, because it successfully confused the archers. One of the knights that Lavian was battling suddenly fell forward with two arrows in his back. While the other knight was startled and shocked, Lavian took advantage of this and dispatched him with ease.

By now, Mustadio had already reloaded both of his guns and was taking aim at the remaining archers. His aim true, only one remained. Ramza now found himself surrounded on all sides by three knights. Ducking, dodging, and parrying like mad, it was almost too much for him. Then, to his surprise, Ramza heard someone exclaim, "Demolish weapons with fury! Hellcry Punch!" He was even more surprised to later find that it was Agrias who had killed the knight behind him using a mighty sword skill. Now able to keep his battle in front of him, Ramza was able to kill the remaining two knights surrounding him with little difficulty. Now free of this latest battle, Ramza threw his rune blade with all his might at the final archer just as he was readying another volley. The blade lodged itself in the archer's stomach and he slumped over, never to move again.

Being in the warmth of Zeklaus Desert had certainly helped with Beowulf's frostbite. By now he had almost completely thawed out, which had helped him in his skirmish with two of the remaining knights. Beowulf parried one thrust so hard that the knight behind it stumbled in front of his partner knight. This slowed both of the knights enough to make for an easy victory for Beowulf. With only three knights remaining, Ramza, Lavian, and Agrias each bested their knights in a short amount of time.

At this time, Orlandu and Meliadoul came running from the south. Ramza slowly ambled over to his rune blade, which was protruding from the corpse of a nearby archer. He withdrew his sword, and then turned his sights on General Pranis.

Thomas stood in awe of the scene before him. He knew he had to fight these brave warriors that now stood before him, but something was nagging at the back of his mind: _If Clemence would have us in a war and hunt down these people for control over the people… who is right?_

Summoning up his courage, Clemence sheathed his sword and addressed Ramza, "I know we are enemies, but perhaps without cause! I wish to speak with you, and once I have we can finish this! I have some questions and concerns about the past, both yours and mine."

Lavian protested, "Ramza, it's a trap! Don't listen to him!"

Ramza responded, "What sort of trap could he have? He's outnumbered six to one." And then addressing Thomas he said, "Ok, we will speak to you. Throw down your blade and your questions may be addressed."

Thomas was greatly surprised. He had led a group of thirty knights for the purpose of hunting down these people, and now they were not only taking mercy on him… they would speak to him. Thomas took the blade off of his belt and threw it down at his feet. Ramza then cleaned his blades and sheathed them both.

Reis was now slowly making her way over with Alicia leaning on her for support. Mustadio and Besrodio were also on their way down from battlements along with Alma who had been safe in the fort.

Ramza said, "Now, you may have some questions, but we have a few ourselves. First, why are you here? Why all of this attention now? What is Clemence after?"

"Well… I may answer those one at a time," Pranis stated. "To your first question… we are here for you, as you may have guessed. The other two are a bit more confusing, and I had hoped that you might help me with them."

Ramza responded, "We can try, but we will need to know what you know first. We know about as much as anyone else off of the street."

Pranis continued, "… Clemence is trying to start a war. He is now recruiting former Hokuten and Nanten knights into his ranks. This is simple to answer… he wants power, but I don't know where you fit into this."

Ramza smiled and chuckled. He then answered, "Well that is easy enough. He is using our 'fame' with the church to usurp power from them. Delita knew the truth behind the Lion War, and with that knowledge he was able to keep the church in check. Clemence does not have the advantage of 'truth,' so he must now lie to the church and incite them to capture us. Of course, all of this will surely make him popular with the people as well… just in time to have the people support his war."

Thomas asked, "And what is the 'truth'? Olan died for it, and it was at his death that I began to question it. I served under him for many years… and it pained me to see him die so needlessly."

"Olan would not call it needless," Ramza answered. "What makes it needless is if it has no effect on anyone. If his life passes unnoticed: the world unchanged. The truth is that during the Lion War, the church manipulated the 'Zodiac Brave Story' in order to sway the people, but the church did not know that the zodiac stones were manipulating the church. Many of the Temple Knights sent to collect the stones fell victim to the Lucavi sealed within. We were able to defeat them and the resurrected Ajora. Not the Ajora reported in the history of the church, but a demon, leader of the Lucavi. The church was left in a state of confusion, and we were all able to find safe haven from the world until now. The truth is what haunts us every day… what makes us unable to look away from injustices."

After a great pause, Thomas replied, "…I don't know why, but I think I believe you Ramza, and now that I too know the truth, I cannot turn from the injustices that Clemence may bring against our people and the people of Ordalia. If you would have me, I would like to join you wherever you should lead."

Ramza answered in saying, "You would not be the first enemy turned friend that I have met. I would gladly accept your assistance as long as you are willing to lend it."

Thomas had much to discuss with the group that he now found as friends. Thomas told them of Clemence's relationship with Cardinal Prateus, and everything else he had known.

After a lengthy discussion, Orlandu mused, "So… Clemence will have another war…"

Agrias added, "We will always fight those who use war to sway the people, but what are we to do? We can't very well march up to Clemence and tell him not to fight a war."

Ramza replied, "Well, according to you, we have plenty of supplies at the fort. We must make it to Ordalia for both safety and to warn the Ordalian people. We can't go to Goland, and we can't go to Dorter either. Our only option is east, into the mountains."

XXX

The sun was setting in a splash of orange and red across the ivory plains of Mandalia as Daniel Kappa was on his way home to his manor west of Gariland. He was returning after a long day of lobbying for Robert Magrat. Daniel led his chocobo to the stable just through his gates to bed it down for the night. As he entered the stable he was quite surprised to see his son's chocobo in the stall next to his own chocobo's with his master to its side.

Daniel smiled a big smile and announced, "Mickey! My son, it's good to see you! I was beginning to think you wouldn't return since our last meeting…"

Mickey answered him, "Yes, father… I had considered it… but it is good to see you again." Mickey hugged his father and then asked, "Is it true that you are aiding Magrat? A little hypocritical, don't you think?"

Daniel looked down and said, "…Yes, it is true." After a short pause he added, "And… if you still want to join, I would be proud to see you fight for your country. Besides… I doubt that I could prevent it anyways. Are you here for long?"

Mickey could scarcely contain his excitement as he exclaimed, "Thank you father! Well… I was just on my way back to the academy, actually."

Daniel said, "Ah, well take care, then."

Mickey left the stable with his mount as Daniel Kappa finished laying down food for his great bird. When he had finished, Daniel Kappa made his way to the main edifice of the Kappa estate.

Once inside, Daniel called for his servant, "Jasper!" At the prompt arrival of Jasper, Daniel continued, "Send word to Senator Magrat that he is to meet with me next evening for dinner and business after," Jasper bowed and left on his errand.

XXX

"So, Daniel… your servant told me you had some business with me this day. He also hinted that it was of some importance."

Across the dinner table Daniel Kappa replied, "Yes, quite right." He rose from his place and then added, "Come… let us conduct business in a more suitable place. I would have you survey my estate to better serve our purpose."

Magrat rose and said, "Ah, this is well. The time will soon come when those that graduate from both of the academies shall need a place to train for Clemence's service. I must admit that yours is the only estate suited to the task."

Magrat went first from the dining hall, followed closely by his host. Daniel Kappa drew close to Magrat, silently drew his knife, and dispatched his guest, who suspected not a thing.

As Robert Magrat slumped lifeless to the floor, Kappa stated, "I'm afraid you have outlived your own usefulness. Jasper!"

Upon his arrival, Daniel continued, "Clean this mess and dispose of his body. Dump him in the plains well away from the manner, the cuars will take care of the rest. Now… are you sure that no one saw him with you?"

Jasper replied, "I am certain. He came with me without delay, and he told not a soul where he was going."

Kappa mused, "…Good. Now, be sure to take care of the estate while I'm gone… I have business in Lesalia."


End file.
